The Land Before Time: Revenge III
by LBTFan13
Summary: Ozzie returns to the Great Valley and with the help of others plans to get back at Littlefoot for getting him chased into the Mysterious Beyond, and Strut makes a tough choice. The final part of the trilogy. T for violence, language, and death.
1. Prologue

**I DO NOT OWN THE LAND BEFORE TIME FRANCHISE, INCLUDING ITS CHARACTERS, SETTINGS, ETC... THIS FANFIC IS PURELY FOR ENTERTAINMENT PLEASURE**

**I ALSO DO NOT OWN ANY SONGS USED IN THIS FANFIC. THEY BELONG TO THEIR RIGHTFUL ARTISTS.**

**YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO, BUT I RECOMMEND STRONGLY YOU READ REVENGE I AND II BEFORE READING THIS. MY SUMMARY BELOW IS NOT VERY DETAILED AT ALL**

**Previously in Revenge II**

A fast biter named Blacktail, the adopted son of Sharptooth, kidnapped Littlefoot's friends as revenge for the death of his father. Rooter, the mole whom Littlefoot met at the beginning of his journey to the Great Valley, returned and offered to help him find his friends. They meet up with a flyer named Scarbeak who also offers to help the group. When Blacktail's fast biters attacked them, Cera sacrificed herself to lead them away. Ali and Shorty continued to urge him to stay strong, and Littlefoot decided he has to fight Blacktail. The group was led to the same cliff top where Littlefoot and his friends killed Sharptooth. Rooter tried to interfere when Littlefoot started to lose, but he was mortally wounded and eventually died. With the help of Scarbeak, Littlefoot and his friends were able to defeat Blacktail. Meanwhile, in the Great Valley, tensions and chaos rose again between Threehorn and Bron, whom Threehorn wanted to blame for all of the kidnappings. Eventually, Threehorn realized the mistake he made, and the two settled their differences. Littlefoot and his friends returned to the Great Valley as Scarbeak left.

**The Land Before Time**

**Revenge III**

**Prologue**

The bright circle was just starting to poke out from behind the mountains, but the Mysterious Beyond continued to hide under a blanket of darkness. It was almost hard to tell that morning was starting since the area always retained a gloomy tone. Two egg eaters scurried through the dead landscape hoping to find some sign of food, but unfortunately there was no sign anywhere. They eventually stopped for a quick breather, but they knew they were not in a safe position. The sharpteeth always prowled around for any stragglers, so sooner or later they would have to get out of the open. One egg eater looked to the other and complained, "Why doesn't this place have food?"

"Because the sharpteeth always find it first," the other replied.

"Where Ozzie?" the other asked. "I don't see any food around here."

"Don't you get it Strut?" Ozzie asked back with a highly annoyed tone. "_We_ are the food. The sharpteeth hunt us! That is why there is no food for us anywhere!"

"That's not true!" Strut pointed out. "There were numerous spots of green food that we passed." Ozzie rolled his eyes.

"That green food was rotten you idiot, and how many times have I told you? We do _not_ eat green food! We eat eggs!"

"Oh and we've been having a really successful time finding eggs!" Strut argued. "There isn't an abundance of eggs here like there are in the Great Valley!"

"Well maybe if you hadn't gotten us here in the first place," Ozzie shot back, "we wouldn't be complaining about food!" Strut gasped.

"You really think it's my fault we ended up here?"

"We were so close to getting rid of that pesky longneck brat!" Ozzie explained. "Of course you had to be a bumbling fool and fall for the sharptooth shadow again!"

"I told you!" Strut defended himself. "It looked real!"

"The sharptooth was just a hatchling!" Ozzie yelled. "Nothing more! Sometimes you are so stupid you become useless!" The two brothers glared at each other for quite some time. Ozzy knew he had hurt Strut with that insult, but Strut was doing his best not to show it. "Lucky for you, we won't be staying here much longer."

"Why is that?" Strut asked.

"I say we go back to the Great Valley and finish what we started. We get rid of the longneck and the rest of his weed whacker friends. Then we take the whole valley by force!"

"You're crazy!" Strut replied. "There's no way we can take the entire Great Valley by ourselves!"

"Maybe we won't be alone," Ozzie thought out loud. "Maybe we will recruit some others too-"

"Oh just forget it!" Strut interrupted. "I've had enough of that place. I say we leave it and those children alone! They've already done enough harm to us."

"But that's why we should go back!" Ozzie argued. "It's been some time since we were chased into the Mysterious Beyond, but those overgrown sharpteeth will not be there this time. We can finally have our revenge!"

"I don't care!" Strut yelled back. "I'm not going near that place ever again!" Ozzie growled with rage.

"Fine then! I'll go by myself! I'll find others to help me, and I'll take the Great Valley without you!"

"You're just going to leave me behind?" Strut asked in disbelief. "I'm your brother!" Ozzie laughed.

"You are a worthless excuse for an egg eater! I should have disposed of you long ago."

"Well then let me make it easier for you!" Strut responded. "Ever since we got here you've become a cruel monster! Well I want nothing more to do with you! I never want to see your face again!" With that, Strut sprinted past his brother deeper into the Mysterious Beyond. Ozzie turned and yelled out towards him.

"If I ever run into you, I will kill you!" He then turned the opposite direction. "This is perfect. He won't be around to hold me back anymore. I'll find somebody to help me, and when I'm ready I will return to the Great Valley. I will find that longneck child, and I will squeeze the life out of him. He will rule the day he got in my way!"

**  
So this prologue is definitely longer than the last two prologues I have written because I had more fun with it.**

**Anyway, now that Strut is gone, Ozzie is going to make some serious trouble. Hopefully this keeps your attention ready for what I hope to be an awesome end to this trilogy. I don't know how I will tie this series up, but I will think of something.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this taste of what is to come!**


	2. Chapter 1

**I DO NOT OWN THE SONG "YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT". THE LYRICS WERE CHANGED UP A BIT TO FIT THE LBT UNIVERSE**

**The Land Before Time**

**Revenge III**

**Chapter 1**

It had only been a week since Blacktail's attack, but still Littlefoot couldn't help but feel unsafe. Sure he had all his friends and family around to support him, but for some reason it didn't seem enough. The young longneck was in the process of starting his breakfast as the bright circle was already beginning to rise high into the sky. "Why do I feel so unsafe?" he asked himself. "Blacktail is dead and Cera is alive. What's wrong with me?" He continued to eat as he pondered this thought. The lush green food was a nice relief from the stress he had been fighting the past few days, unfortunately this was only a brief relief. Sadly Littlefoot became too unsure to even continue eating. "Come on Littlefoot," he muttered. "Snap out of it. Everything's fine now."

"Hey flathead." Littlefoot closed his eyes and smiled a little as he heard his famous nickname. He turned around and saw Cera looking kind of annoyed. "The others told me I'd find you here. Are you done taking your time to eat?"

"Hi Cera," Littlefoot responded almost sarcastically. "Nice to see you too." Then he frowned, and Cera realized something was up, so she became more sympathetic.

"They also told me that you haven't been yourself lately. What's wrong? Your belly hurt?"

"It's not that," Littlefoot shook his head. "It's just..." He hesitated at first because he had an idea of what Cera's reaction would be. "I just feel a bit lost." Cera rolled her eyes a bit, and Littlefoot smirked. "I figured you would do that."

"Come on Littlefoot," Cera protested. "It's over. It's been a week and nothing's happened. No flyers, no fast biters, no kidnappings, nothing."

"I know," Littlefoot replied. "I guess I'm still not over everything."

"You mean Rooter?" Cera asked. Littlefoot nodded. "Look, we are all sorry he had to die. I didn't know him as well as you did, and by the sounds of it the two of you were becoming closer."

"I didn't even know him for that long," Littlefoot commented. "I was mostly surprised to see him, but when he came back," Littlefoot hesitated again, "it just made everything seem right for me."

"Oh thanks," Cera joked. "Don't say that about me. I don't love you or anything.

"Well I am the only one who could love you," Littlefoot joked back, "so I figure you don't really need me to say that."

"Ha ha ha. Very funny." Cera nudged him and the two laughed. Littlefoot was starting to feel a bit better, but he still couldn't shake the semi gloomy mood away. Cera sighed heavily. Cera then thought of an idea and started to stare at him devilishly. "You know, I'm starting to doubt if I should love somebody as boring and 'woe is me' like you." Littlefoot looked at her, confused but yet still interested. Cera laughed and said, "Come on lighten up Littlefoot. Stop being so down all the time. Have some fun like we used to." Cera winked at him, and the longneck smiled. He approached her and began to sing,

"_I got chills, they're multiplying, and I'm losing control! 'Cause the power you're supplying, makes me feel like I'm flying!"_ Cera shuffled back but gestured him towards her with her tail. She then began to sing,

"_You better shape up, 'cause I need a man, and my heart is set on you! You better shape up; you better understand, to my heart I must be true!"_ Littlefoot answered back,

"_Nothing left, nothing left for me to do!" _Cera smiled and sang,

"_You're the one that I want! You are the one I want, oo, oo, oo, honey! The one that I want! You are the one I want, oo, oo, oo flathead! The one that I want, you are the one I want, oo, oo, oo the one I need! Oh yes indeed!"_ Littlefoot couldn't help but laugh. Cera's trick was working a charm.

"You know there's not a threehorn around like you," he commented, and Cera grinned.

"Yep that's me. The one and only threehorn that loves you even if you can be a little dense." Littlefoot playfully glared.

"Somebody has to keep that pride in line right? Guess I'm the one for the job."

"You could never keep my pride in line," Cera joked. "I'm too stubborn for you."

"Well at least we can agree on that," Littlefoot added. Cera laughed.

"Now that's the Littlefoot I know and love, as well as love to make fun of." Littlefoot nodded and started singing,

"_I better shape up, 'cause you need a man, who can make you feel good inside! I better shape up, 'if I'm gonna prove, that your faith is justified!"_ They both ran with each other and sang,

"_Are you sure? Yes, I'm sure deep down inside! You're the one that I want! You are the one I want, oo, oo, oo, honey! The one that I want! You are the one I want, oo, oo, oo, honey! The one that I want! You are the one I want, oo, oo, oo, the one I need! Oh yes indeed!"_ They eventually stopped running but continued laughing. Unfortunately, their fun would be short lived.

"Cera!" a voice called out. Littlefoot looked in the direction of the voice, but Cera didn't turn around. She already knew who it was, but she didn't want to turn and look at him. When a much larger threehorn appeared behind her, she sighed.

"What dad?"

"Cera have you seen Tricia?" Threehorn asked. Cera didn't turn around, but she still answered.

"She's with Tria. They went to drop Ruby, Rhett, and Hyp at her mud pool spot a while ago. They'll be back in a bit."

"Oh," Threehorn responded, "of course they did. Thank you." Cera didn't reply this time, and Threehorn sighed. "Look, can we please talk?"

"No," Cera replied firmly. "Now go away!"

"But you haven't spoken to me in days!" Threehorn complained.

"There's a reason why!" Cera yelled back. Threehorn opened his mouth to speak again, but it was clear he wasn't going to win. Frustrated, he simply turned around and left. When he was completely gone, Cera sighed and looked at Littlefoot. "Sorry you had to hear that."

"You're still mad at him about what happened between him and my dad?" Littlefoot asked. Cera nodded.

"This is crazy. I don't think I've ever been mad at him this long."

"Why don't you talk to him about it?" Littlefoot suggested. "I mean, my dad was willing to forgive him, and so did Tria and the rest of the grown ups."

"Well everybody else is a little too forgiving," Cera commented. "You aren't upset at all that he tried to kill your dad?"

"Maybe at first I was," Littlefoot admitted, "but their fight was no different from when we first fought each other. Remember? We were beating the heck out of each other, but we eventually got over it." Cera sighed.

"Yeah, I guess so. Maybe later I'll talk to him." She smiled. "Thanks Littlefoot."

"I should really be thanking you," Littlefoot smiled back.

"Yeah, I guess you should be," Cera laughed. Littlefoot laughed as well and shook his head a bit. The two then nuzzled warmly for a couple seconds. Then they heard their names being called.

"Littlefoot! Cera! Hurry up out there!" The two broke off and smiled.

"That's Chomper," Cera stated. "Buzz kill." Littlefoot laughed.

"Thanks Cera. Let's go play." With that the two dinosaurs rushed off towards their friends.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**I know this chapter didn't have much "action" per say, but I really enjoyed writing this bit anyway. I was listening to Grease the other day and when I heard it I thought, "This would be such a fun song between Littlefoot and Cera". Now I don't know if the original song has any sexual references in it, because it is only in the movie and not any musical versions. For all I know I could be completely paranoid. Well either way, I edited the lyrics a tad bit, mostly to fit the universe. If you don't like what I did, or if it sounds kind of weird, then I will gladly change the lyrics back.**

**On another note, Cera is ticked! Wonder what will happen in order for her to forgive her dad. Hopefully this happy beginning is a change from the normally frantic openings I've done in the previous stories.**

**As always, enjoy and comment!**


	3. Chapter 2

**The Land Before Time**

**Revenge III**

**Chapter 2**

Back in the Mysterious Beyond, Strut was beginning to second guess leaving Ozzie. He had been wondering around aimlessly for what seemed like hours and had not found any food or water, let alone shelter, and he started worrying. "Oh this was a great idea Strut," he muttered to himself. "Real smart leaving your brother. I'm such a fool." Everywhere he looked he saw nothing but gloom and despair. Then again, the Mysterious Beyond was never a welcoming location, especially not a happy place. "Even if my brother was insane, he always protected me. I would never have lasted this long if Ozzie wasn't around." Then Strut remembered his argument with Ozzie and shook his head. "Snap out of it Strut. You had to leave. That egg eater is no longer your brother. He has become a monster fueled with nothing but vengeance." Strut crossed his arms and bowed his head. "That's all I ever hear from him. 'I'm going to make that longneck pay! The Great Valley will be mine!' Every day it's the same thing. I personally never want to go back to that place ever again! I am not getting chased out by sharpteeth anymore!" Strut then sighed after this outburst. "Then again, the valley did have luscious green food, and there were so many nice spots to sleep." The more he thought about, the more he came to realize something he had never thought before. He threw his hands into the air in frustration. "I am a terrible egg eater! Why can't I just be happy with eggs?" Then he shook his head again. "No that's what Ozzie would say. I'm no longer with him, so I can do whatever I want. The next time I find green food it's going straight into my stomach."

At that moment, Strut noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Two figures were sprinting in the opposite direction, and they looked like egg eaters. Strut spun around in shock. "There are other egg eaters here? Where are they headed?" Not hesitating, Strut quickly sprinted after the egg eaters, making sure to keep his distance. "Since when were there other egg eaters in the Mysterious Beyond," Strut asked himself, "and why are they here? After a few minutes of running he found the answer to his question. He quickly jumped behind a nearby boulder and pressed his side against the rock. His eyes widened with fear as he peaked his head out from behind the boulder. "This isn't possible," he whispered in amazement. In front of him were a large number of egg eaters, and among them was Ozzie. In fact, Ozzie was standing in front of the group addressing the egg eaters.

"Fellow egg eaters!" he called out. "I have brought you here to make an offer!"

"What kind of offer?" one egg eater asked.

"And who do you think you are?" another challenged. Ozzie smirked.

"My name is Ozzie, and I am the one who is going to save you all from this nightmare that is the Mysterious Beyond!" Numerous skeptical murmurs aroused from within the group.

"What makes you think you can help us?" another egg eater questioned. "I personally have been everywhere in the Mysterious Beyond, and I have yet to find one sign of food or water."

"I know a place," Ozzie explained, "that is filled with eggs just waiting to be eaten and fresh water. This place is known as the Great Valley." Even more skeptical murmurs developed within the group. One egg eater laughed.

"You must be crazy. The Great Valley is protected by a giant wall of rock, and there are too many large dinosaurs within the valley. You'd be a fool to try and force your way in!"

"Well then good thing I'm not a fool," Ozzie responded. "You see, I have been in the Great Valley before, and I know a way to get in without going through the wall." This caught the attention of a few of the egg eaters, but most were still not totally convinced. "Here is my plan," Ozzie continued. "We sneak into the Great Valley and take it for ourselves! Imagine all the eggs you can eat!" Now the majority of the group was getting a little excited, but one asked the ideal question.

"What's the catch?" Ozzie's grin disappeared, and his tone dropped to a menacing low.

"Within the Great Valley is a longneck child named Littlefoot. The last time I was in the valley he foiled my plans over and over again. It was because of him that I ended up here."

"Is a longneck child really that much trouble?" the egg eater asked again. Ozzie nodded.

"Only when he is with his little group of friends, but he is vulnerable alone. I was so close to getting rid of him when two sharpteeth chased me off." Ozzie shook his head as the moment came back in his mind. "I was lucky to escape, but ever since then I've been stuck here, just like all of you." The egg eaters glanced at each other in wonder. Could a simple child really be so troublesome? Either way, Ozzie knew he was winning them over. "The task is simple. You help me get the kid, and I will help you get the Great Valley and all the eggs inside." Excitement grew throughout the group, and Ozzie smiled. "Once I deal with the little weed whacker, the Great Valley will be ours for the taking!" Cheers erupted all around as egg eaters threw their claws in the air.

Strut could only stand and watch in fear. He pulled himself behind the boulder. "He's completely lost his mind," he whispered in shock. "The moment he steps into the Great Valley he'll die." Before he could be spotted, Strut sprinted away from the area. Once he got to a safe distance, he stopped to catch his breath. "But why do I care?" he asked himself. "Ozzie's an idiot if he thinks he can take over the Great Valley. Whatever happens to him he'll have brought it on himself." He turned back in the direction he came from. The roaring chants from the egg eaters could still be heard perfectly clear. "Still," he frowned, "I really hope he doesn't do anything stupid." Then he noticed something else. It was odd at first, and it only got odder by the second. A group of fast biters were approaching the egg eaters, but they were not about to attack them. In fact, they were approaching at a relaxed pace, as if they wanted to talk with them. "What are those fast biters doing here?" Strut asked himself. "Why aren't they attacking?" Intrigued, Strut headed back to get a closer look.

...

Meanwhile, Littlefoot and Cera had met up with the rest of their friends as they were playing tag. Ali and Shorty had decided to sit out this game and make sure nobody was cheating, while Ducky teamed up with Spike and rode on his back. Ironically, Chomper was it as he chased his friends around. Petrie laughed as he floated in the air. "Sorry Chomper, but you no catch me unless you learn to fly!" Unfortunately, he didn't realize that he was about to fly into a tree. Before he could turn around, Petrie collided into the tree. He tumbled to the ground, but luckily he wasn't too high. As he brought himself back up, Chomper was standing above him.

"Are you okay Petrie?" he held out his hand. Petrie grabbed Chomper's hand and pulled himself up.

"Me okay. Thank you, Chomper." Chomper grinned.

"Don't thank me just yet." He poked Petrie's stomach. "Tag! You're it!" Ali and Shorty laughed as Petrie frowned.

"Do not worry," Ducky commented. "You will tag one of us soon. Yep yep yep!" Spike glared at her and she laughed. "Of course, we will not be it next. No no no!" Spike nodded in agreement, and Cera shook her head.

"Come on you guys! I'm not even trying here!" She then noticed something strange. Littlefoot was not as enthusiastic about playing as he was before. _What now? I thought he was feeling better_. "Time out guys!" she yelled as she approached Littlefoot. "Littlefoot, what's wrong?" Littlefoot sighed.

"You asked me what was wrong earlier today, and I told you I wasn't over Rooter's death."

"Yeah," Cera nodded, "and?"

"Well, there was something else too." Littlefoot hesitated before continuing. The rest of the group had gathered closer to him to listen in.

"What are you talking about?" Ali asked with concern.

"What else is on your mind?" Shorty asked as well.

"Well," Littlefoot started, "I had a bad sleep story the other night." Cera immediately rolled her eyes.

"You've been having a lot of bad sleep stories lately," Chomper pointed out. "Why do you think they happen?" Littlefoot shook his head.

"I don't know. It's really strange, as if I have to finish things from before."

"All right then," Cera moaned. "What was the stupid sleep story this time?" Littlefoot glanced over at her.

"Well, it had those two egg eaters from before." A small gasp came from the group. Everybody turned to Chomper who obviously knew whom Littlefoot was talking about.

"Littlefoot, you don't really mean them, do you?" The longneck nodded. Soon enough Ducky, Petrie, and Spike all understood whom they were referring to, and it didn't take long for Cera to finally get it as she snorted.

"Those two creeps were nothing but trouble." Cera noticed that Ali and Shorty were having trouble figuring out whom they were talking about. "You guys don't know, do you?" The two longnecks shook their heads. Then Chomper spoke up.

"Remember when Rinkus and Sierra kidnapped us and I told you about how Littlefoot took care of me after I hatched? I mentioned two egg eaters tried to eat me when I was still an egg and also throw Littlefoot off the Great Wall." Ali and Shorty remembered this conversation and finally understood.

"I might not have known those egg eaters," Ali admitted, "but they do sound pretty nasty to me. What they tried to do to you guys was terrible."

"So what do you think this means?" Shorty asked Littlefoot. "I'm not an expert on sleep stories, but why do you think you saw them?"

"I don't know," Littlefoot shook his head. "It could be just another bad sleep story."

"Yes that is all that it was," Ducky nodded. "Although I do not like bad sleep stories either. No no no."

"Just thinking about egg eaters makes me scared," Petrie added. "They really mean."

"Well then let's just not think about them," Cera replied firmly. "They were chased into the Mysterious Beyond by Chomper's parents. For all we know, they probably became sharpteeth food."

"I don't remember having egg eater," Chomper thought out loud. "Although my parents did find this lovely-" but before he could finish everybody became too grossed out to picture whatever he was about to say.

"No offense," Shorty interrupted, "but I don't think I need to hear about this."

"I'd prefer not to hear it either," Ali agreed. "You can keep that to yourself." Chomper giggled a bit.

"Yeah, I forgot that leaf eaters have slightly wimpier stomachs than sharpteeth."

"Wanna say that again?" Cera glared at him, and then the rest of the gang laughed. Littlefoot smiled.

"Thanks you guys. I've just been having a lot on my mind lately. So much has happened to us these past few days."

"Don't get sentimental on us now," Cera warned. "I already had to deal with mellow longneck today." Littlefoot rolled his eyes.

"I know, Cera. I know." The young threehorn let out her signature "HMPH" and turned to the rest of the group.

"So what are we doing just standing around here? Are we going back to playing tag?" At that moment, Petrie lightly jabbed Cera's horn.

"You it!" Petrie immediately flapped into the air as Cera growled. Ali and Shorty decided to join in this game as everybody dispersed in their attempt to avoid the threehorn.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**I'm sorry this took so long to update. College is getting even MORE hectic by the second, and now I feel like a broken record.**

**Again, not too much action here, but I was looking for some more setting up. Ozzie certainly has quite a bit of reinforcements, but how are these fast biters becoming involved? Will Strut try to stop his brother's insanity, and if so how? Future updates might be slow because I have about a month left before I am done, and I have so much stuff to do until then. So please be patient with me as I will continue to work on this as much as I can. As always, please let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter 3

**The Land Before Time**

**Revenge III**

**Chapter 3**

Later that day, as the bright circle was about to disappear behind the mountains, Strut finally arrived at the Great Valley. He had been sprinting there after overhearing Ozzie's conversation with the fast biters. "I have to find those kids before he does. Who knows what he will do to them." Being back in the Great Valley brought back memories of his last visit, be it not a pleasant one. He almost remembered exactly where everything was, having scanned the area before with his brother. Strut kept low, hiding behind trees and bushes to avoid detection, and as he hid he kept looking frantically for any of the kids he ran into during his last visit. "How hard can it be to find some kids?" he asked himself. "They were the only younglings we encountered here." He noticed many larger dinosaurs pass by him as he kept low, and he almost popped out to ask somebody for help. Unfortunately, he imagined that the children told their parents all about him and Ozzie, so for all he knew the dinosaurs here would attack him at first sight. "Just keep calm," Strut told himself. "You'll find them. You have to." Then Strut overheard some laughter nearby. Curious, he peered out from behind the tree and saw three young dinosaurs. Strut was shocked to see whom he was looking at, and he whispered, "There they are." He found a threehorn, a sharptooth, and a longneck. Strut sighed with relief. "Thank goodness I found them, or at least some of them." He almost stepped out to greet them, but he hesitated. "What if they alert their parents? What if I don't get the chance to talk to them?" He watched as the three young dinosaurs started to walk off, and he knew he had no choice. He crept out from behind his hiding spot and approached the dinosaurs.

The moment Littlefoot saw the egg eater out of the corner of his eye, he immediately was stricken with fear. He would recognize him anywhere, and there was no denying who was heading towards him. He shook his head numerous times. "It can't be." The more he tried to deny it, the more he realized he was not hallucinating. "Guys look!" he yelled. Cera and Chomper both spun around and saw what Littlefoot was so afraid of. Chomper gasped, and Cera growled.

"You! You're that egg eater!" The egg eater immediately put his claws up in a non-threatening manner.

"Wait young ones!" he pleaded. "I didn't come here to hurt you."

"Get away from us you creep!" Chomper threatened. "Whatever you are here to do, we won't let you get away with it!"

"You misunderstand me!" the egg eater shook his head. "My name is Strut, and I have no intention of hurting you."

"What the heck do you want from us now?" Littlefoot demanded. "Don't you dare try to lie!"

"We haven't forgotten what you and your brother tried to do last time!" Cera growled again. Then she noticed something odd. "Speaking of which, where is he? I bet he's going to ambush us any second now!" Strut frantically shook his head.

"Ozzie is not here right now, but he will be soon!"

"What are you talking about?" Chomper asked.

"This is what I wanted to warn you about!" Strut explained. "My brother is on his way here, and he's not alone. He's recruited a group of egg eaters and fast biters and he plans on attacking the Great Valley!"

"Why?" Littlefoot demanded again. "Why would he come back?"

"He wants to get revenge on you for what you did to us before," Strut answered. This only filled Littlefoot with more anger.

"After what I did to you? You were the ones who tried to eat Chomper before he could hatch!"

"And you were the ones who tried to throw us off the Great Wall!" Chomper added. "As far as I'm concerned, you've done more to us!"

"That doesn't matter now!" Strut argued. "All you need to know is that Ozzie will be here, and when he comes you will all be in danger. Once he's dealt with you, he will not stop until the Great Valley is under his control."

"Why now?" Chomper asked. "He could have tried to attack a while ago when you evaded my parents. Why did he wait all this time?"

"Ozzie became insane over time," Strut explained. "At first he wanted nothing to do with you, but after being stuck in the Mysterious Beyond for so long he eventually lost his mind. Now all he can think of is revenge." For the first time, Littlefoot almost lowered his guard. Something about what Strut was telling him seemed truthful, but he couldn't tell for sure. Fortunately, Cera realized this before Littlefoot could say anything.

"Don't buy this crap at all Littlefoot!" she yelled. "Fast biters would never join up egg eaters! Besides, you can't prove anything!"

"I came here alone!" Strut tried to rebuttal.

"That just makes you stupid," Chomper replied. "For all we know, you could have come here to get Littlefoot yourself."

"I promise!" Strut pleaded again. "I don't want to hurt him!"

"I've heard enough out of you!" Cera stepped forward. "You better leave now before I get pissed off!" Chomper also stepped forward. Strut backed up.

"No wait! Please! I don't want to fight you!"

"Good!" Cera laughed. "Then this will be easy!" Strut realized at this point he wasn't going to get through to them. He took one last look at Littlefoot, who was still unsure of whether or not to believe him or not.

"Ozzie is coming. Keep yourself safe." With that, he turned around and sprinted back through the bushes and disappeared. Cera let out her signature "HMPH" and turned back to the others.

"Man I want to pound him."

"You said it," Chomper agreed. "That guy was nothing but trouble, and I bet he hasn't changed one bit. Right, Littlefoot?" He looked over, but he noticed his longneck friend was not responding. He was simply gazing at the bushes in a confused manner. "Littlefoot? Are you okay?"

"I'm not sure," Littlefoot responded. "That was way too weird to be coincidence."

"What do you mean?" Cera asked.

"What are the chances," Littlefoot started, "that I have a sleep story about those two egg eaters, and then the very same day we run into one of them?"

"You think it means something?" Chomper guessed.

"I don't know," Littlefoot admitted, "but something tells me I don't want to find out." Cera rolled her eyes a bit.

"Come one, snap out of it. Nothing bad is going to happen. Strut was only trying to gain your trust so he could get to you himself. He's no good just like his brother." Littlefoot hesitantly nodded.

"Yeah, I guess your right. It just seemed strange, the timing of it all I mean." He then looked at both Cera and Chomper collectively. "Just please promise me you guys will be careful. I have a very bad feeling about this."

"I promise," Chomper nodded.

"I promise too," Cera agreed, "but I still think you are overreacting over all of this." Littlefoot sighed.

"Maybe I am. Maybe I'll talk to my folks about it."

...

Later that night at his nest, Littlefoot was still having trouble sleeping. He couldn't get his mind off of his encounter with Strut. He wanted to stop thinking about it, but the more he tried the more he wondered. "Why can't I forget him? Why am I still thinking about what he said?" He had considered asking his grandparents about it, but they were already sleeping peacefully. "Maybe I shouldn't wake them up about this." Luckily, he wouldn't have to think about this by himself.

"Littlefoot?" Littlefoot looked up and saw his father, Bron, standing over him with a concerned expression on his face. "Are you all right?" Littlefoot smiled. He was very happy his father decided to stay and live in the Great Valley, because it gave him another family member to talk to.

"I'm surprised you are here. I figured you would be with Shorty and Ali."

"Shorty told me about your sleep story," Bron replied, "so I came by to see if you were okay." Littlefoot sighed.

"I don't know. I'm just really confused."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Bron asked.

"Well, Cera, Chomper and I had an unexpected visitor earlier today. We ran into one of the egg eaters from my sleep story."

"You mean the ones who tried to throw you off the Great Wall?"

"Yeah," Littlefoot nodded. "He came to warn me about his brother."

"What did he tell you?" Bron had only briefly heard of these egg eaters, but he could still understand Littlefoot's confusion.

"He told me that his brother had gathered up a bunch of other egg eaters and fast biters, and he was going to attack the Great Valley in order to get to me." Bron sighed.

"Another one who wants to come after you. Well, don't believe a word of it. Obviously this guy just wants to scare you into believing what he said was true. If you are scared, you become more vulnerable."

"I know," Littlefoot admitted, "but at the same time I don't think that's what he wants. When he was telling me about his brother becoming insane, part of me wanted to believe him." Littlefoot shook his head. "I just don't know what to think. Maybe Cera's right and I'm worrying too much, but at the same time I can't help but feel the other way." Bron nodded.

"You are not overreacting, son. It's only natural that you feel this way after running into somebody who tried to kill you before."

"What should I do?" Littlefoot questioned.

"If you want my advice," Bron replied, "I would try and forget about it. Know that even if this egg eater was telling the truth, you have your grandparents and me. We will always protect you from anybody who wants to hurt you, no matter what." Littlefoot knew his father was telling the truth, and he started to feel better.

"Thanks, Dad." Bron lowered his face and nuzzled his son.

"I love you so much Littlefoot," he whispered.

"Longnecks!" a voice cried through the night. Littlefoot and Bron both looked in the direction of the voice and saw Pterano approaching them. Grandpa and Grandma Longneck immediately woke up from their slumber and stood up.

"Pterano?" Grandpa asked, making sure he was seeing correctly. "Is something wrong?"

'We've got intruders in the valley!" Pterano reported. "Egg eaters and fast biters have invaded us!" Grandma gasped.

"Egg eaters working with fast biters? That's not possible!"

"That means," Bron started, but he looked down at Littlefoot. His son's eyes were widened with fear.

"Strut was telling the truth," he whispered.

"Don't worry, little one," Grandma replied. "You are safe with us."

"I'm more worried about my friends," Littlefoot protested. "I have to make sure they are okay!"

"Littlefoot, if what Strut said is true," Bron warned, "you should stay here. If you go running out now you'll only leave yourself open to be captured."

"I don't care!" Littlefoot argued. "My friends could be in danger, and I'm not going to let them get hurt!"

"There's no use arguing it," Grandpa told Bron. "Littlefoot's made up his mind, and he's not going to change it." Bron sighed, for he knew Grandpa was right.

"Just promise me you will be careful," he instructed his son.

"I will, Dad," Littlefoot responded.

"Stay low," Grandma added, "and only go out in the open if you really need to."

"At the first sign of trouble," Grandpa continued, "you hide. Don't let anybody not from the valley see you. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Grandpa," Littlefoot nodded. Grandpa nodded back.

"Then go. Find your friends, and bring them back here. We can protect them from the intruders."

"Thanks, Grandpa." With that, Littlefoot turned and started sprinting away from the nest. Before he went out of sight, Bron stepped forward.

"Good luck, son!" he called out. Once he could no longer see Littlefoot, Bron turned to Grandma and Grandpa. "I hope he'll be okay."

"I hope so too," Grandma commented.

Meanwhile, Cera's nest had not received any warning about the attack. Tria had not returned from her mud pool spot, so Threehorn thought it was the perfect opportunity to speak with Cera. While they were settling in their nest, Threehorn spoke up. "Cera, we need to talk." Cera glared at him.

"I told you already. I'm not talking to you."

"But if you could just let me explain everything to you," Threehorn started, but Cera quickly interrupted him.

"All right, Daddy. Explain why you had to fight Littlefoot's father. Explain why you blamed him for all of the attacks! Explain what you have against Littlefoot's family!" Threehorn was not surprised by Cera's rage, but her last comment caught him off guard.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, but Cera wasn't buying it.

"Don't act like you don't understand me! Why are you always causing problems with the longnecks?"

"I do not cause problems with them," Threehorn tried to defend himself. "I just don't see things the same as they do." Cera shook her head.

"It's not even just with them! You are always the one to start trouble within the herd!"

"That is not true!"

"Oh really, Daddy? You did it when the Thundering Falls stopped flowing. You did it when the swarming leaf goppers ate all of the green food in the Great Valley. You did it when Doc came to the valley!" Every event she listed filled her with more anger. "You had to get angry at Mr. Thicknose when the white sky sparkles fell from the sky! You had to try and get rid of the Tinysaurus'. You always-"

"Enough!" Threehorn intervened. He knew Cera wanted to keep going on, but he wanted to speak too. "I only care about what is best for the Great Valley and for everybody in it. Based on your reactions, I can admit that I tend to overreact."

"Overreact?" Cera asked. "I think you've gone far beyond that." The rage she felt for her father was now bringing her to tears. "I mean, Littlefoot's dad? What the hell were you thinking? You were trying to kill him!"

"I was thinking about you!" Threehorn complained. "I wanted you to be safe!"

"By trying to take away Littlefoot's last parent? How was that going to make me safer?" Threehorn couldn't come up with an answer, and this made Cera even angrier. "Come on, Daddy! I'm all ears! What the hell were you-"

"I wasn't thinking!" Threehorn yelled. This completely got Cera's attention, and it seemed like she finally broke her father's pride. Threehorn was now the one in tears. "I wasn't thinking at all! I was just so angry! I was angry, and afraid! I was afraid that you were going to get hurt, and I wouldn't have been able to help you!" Cera wasn't sure how to respond. She knew she got through to her father, but she wasn't sure if she was willing to forgive him so quickly. Threehorn continued to cry as he completely opened up to his daughter. "Cera, I love you more than anything in the world. I would do anything to keep you out of harm's way, even if it meant hurting somebody else. I wasn't thinking when I attacked Bron, and I know I made a terrible mistake, but I can't take it back! As much as I want to remove it from my life, I'm stuck with it! I can deal with that, but I can't stand my own daughter not trusting me!" He bowed his head in great shame, and Cera realized that he had finally learned his lesson. Unfortunately, they would not be alone for much longer.

"My, my, what a touching scene." Both threehorns looked in the direction of the voice, and what they saw filled Cera with fear.

"You," she whispered. "You're Strut's brother, Ozzie!"

"Nice to see you haven't forgotten me," Ozzie smugly replied. "I must admit I didn't forget you either. You and the rest of your group of little grass guzzlers who ruined my supper!"

"It was your own fault you couldn't keep track of your food!" Cera mocked. Threehorn stepped forward and growled.

"I don't know who the hell you are, but if you don't want to get hurt, I suggest you walk away right now!" Ozzie laughed.

"Oh, sure. I'd be happy to leave, on one condition." He then glared at Cera. "She comes with me, quietly."

"I beg your pardon?" Threehorn gritted his teeth.

"That little girl is going to help me take care of some unfinished business," Ozzie explained. "If she expects me to leave without creating a scene, she'll do exactly as I say."

"Screw you!" Cera replied from behind her father. "I'm not going anywhere with you!" Ozzie grinned.

"I was hoping you would say that." He then turned his head towards a large group of bushes. "Bring him out!" he yelled. No sooner did he speak did a group egg eaters step out from behind the bushes. Cera's eyes widened as she saw one of them carrying a small sharptooth out by the throat.

"Chomper!" she yelled. Chomper's claws were bound behind his back, and vines were wrapped around his mouth to keep it shut He wriggled and squirmed in the egg eater's grip, but he could not free himself. "Let him go, now!" Cera demanded.

"If you come with me now," Ozzie offered, "I will not harm him!"

"How about you let him go," Cera countered, "or I beat the crap out of you!" Ozzie shook his head.

"You disappoint me. I was hoping we would not have to resort to this, but you obviously need further convincing." Without warning, a huge swarm of fast biters leaped out from the bushes behind them and landed on Threehorn's back and sides. Threehorn tried to shake them off, but the fast biters dug their claws into his flesh to keep on. He screamed in pain as the sharpteeth continued to bite and claw away at his back, and Cera could only stand in horror.

"DADDY! NO!" she cried out. She spun back to Ozzie. "PLEASE, STOP IT!"

"Do you want to come now?" Ozzie asked.

"I'LL DO WHATEVER YOU ASK!" Cera screamed again. "PLEASE STOP THEM NOW!" Ozzie grinned.

_"Enough,"_ he hissed in sharptooth, which surprised both Cera and Chomper. The fast biters all hopped off, leaving Threehorn with large gashes and bite marks on his back and sides. The mighty threehorn knelt down to the ground in pain and gritted his teeth.

"You'll pay, you bastard," he muttered. "I swear, I'll kill you."

"Good luck with that," Ozzie mocked. "Seize her!" Two egg eaters approached Cera and grabbed her by the feet. They lifted her off the ground and carried her towards Ozzie, where he pulled out another vine and wrapped it tightly around her snout. He then glanced at Threehorn. "Now then, tell the rest of the valley I want the longneck child, alone! If you want your daughter and the sharptooth to remain unharmed, I suggest you don't follow!" He looked to the rest of the egg eaters and fast biters. "Let's go!" He repeated it in sharptooth for the fast biters, and all of them collectively ran off, carrying their hostages with them and leaving Threehorn in great pain. While Threehorn was unable to move, he let out a blood-curdling cry that erupted throughout the Great Valley.

**To Be Continued**

**Well hopefully this chapter makes up for the lack of real action in the previous two. So for the first time, Cera is now a hostage, and Threehorn was badly injured. If some of you have a hard time believing that Threehorn would go down so easily, talk to me via PM and I will explain my reasoning.**

**Not much else I can really say about this chapter, except like always I enjoyed writing it! I hope you guys enjoy reading it, and as always let me know what you think.**


	5. Chapter 4

**The Land Before Time**

**Revenge III**

**Chapter 4**

Meanwhile, things were not going so well for Ducky and Spike. They had gotten separated from Mama Swimmer during the attack, and now the egg eaters were chasing after them. Spike ran as fast as he could without looking back, with Ducky riding on his back, but the egg eaters did not give up the chase. "Keep running, Spike!" Ducky urged her brother. "They are still behind us! They are, they are!" Spike nodded and tried to hasten his pace. He attempted to weave in and out of trees and rocks, but the egg eaters were not going to be lost so easily. Unfortunately, the two eventually reached a dead end at a large rock face. Spike skidded to a stop and Ducky gasped. "We are trapped!" Spike slowly turned around as the egg eaters approached them.

"Make this easier on yourselves," one smiled maliciously, "and give up now." Spike made his best attempt to mimic Chomper and growled with anger. He planted his feet on the ground in preparation to fight, and Ducky hopped off his back.

"Spike, do not fight them! I do not want to see you get hurt you! No no no!" Spike lowered his head and gently nuzzled his stepsister. He then turned his attention back to the egg eaters. Suddenly, a rock smashed right into the side of one egg eater's head. Spike and Ducky looked to see Mama Swimmer with a pile of rocks beside her. "Mama!" Ducky smiled. "We are safe!"

"Get away from my children!" Mama Swimmer yelled out. With that, she picked up rock after rock and continuously launched them at the egg eaters. Some were hit in their faces, and others were hit in their necks or sides. The egg eaters staggered and toppled onto each other as they tried to dodge the barrage of rocks.

"Go mama!" Ducky happily cried. "Teach those meanies a lesson! Yep yep yep!" Spike laughed as he watched the egg eaters fall to the ground one after the other. It was very surprising to see their mother fight for a change, but they knew she was not going to let them get kidnapped again. A few rocks later, the remaining conscious egg eaters turned in the other direction and fled. Mama Swimmer smirked as she observed the egg eaters sprawled on the ground.

"That'll make you think twice before coming after my babies again!"

"Mama!" Ducky called out. Mama Swimmer smiled as she rushed towards her children. She picked up Ducky and nuzzled her.

"Are you all right, sweetie?"

"I am fine," Ducky nodded. "Yep yep yep, and so is Spike!" Spike smiled and then grabbed some grass to eat. Ducky sighed. "Always hungry." She and Mama Swimmer laughed.

"Let's head back to the nest," Mama Swimmer said. "It should be safer now that those egg eaters are gone."

"I just hope Petrie and the rest of my friends are safe," Ducky prayed, "I do, I do." Spike swallowed the food in his mouth and nodded.

"Don't worry, dear," Mama Swimmer comforted. "I am sure their parents are all protecting them as well."

Meanwhile, a group of fast biters had made their way towards Petrie's nest. They had spotted Pterano and decided to follow him back, but to their surprise they lost him. Then again, considering Pterano was a flyer it was really no surprise they couldn't find him. As they got closer and closer to the nest, Petrie peeked out from within their cave. "Oh no," he whispered. "They here, but me no see uncle."

"Don't worry, Petrie," Mama flyer consoled from behind. "You uncle would not let them get to him. I'm sure he's on his way back now." Petrie nodded and looked back at the fast biters. They had no idea where the nest was, so he sighed with some relief.

"Me hope so. Me no want uncle hurt."

"Neither do I," Mama Flyer admitted. "Neither do I." Then the flyers heard a familiar voice, but it was not whom they expected.

"Petrie!" the voice called out, and Petrie gasped in fear.

"Littlefoot," he whispered. Unfortunately, the fast biters heard the longneck's call, and they immediately dispersed behind bushes and trees. It wasn't long before Littlefoot ran into view and stopped. He looked around quickly but found nobody, so he looked up towards Petrie.

"Petrie!" he called out again. "Are you up there?" Petrie immediately peaked out from within the nest.

"Run, Littlefoot!" he yelled. "It trap!" Sadly, it was too late as the fast biters revealed themselves and surrounded Littlefoot. Petrie watched in fear as the sharpteeth circled his friend, waiting to strike. Littlefoot had fought fast biters before, but he realized this time he was truly outnumbered.

"Stay away from my friends! I'm the one you want!" One fast biter laughed and hissed in leaf.

"The egg eater has special plans for you, boy. Make this easier on yourself and give up."

"I don't think so!" Littlefoot refused. "I'll take on all of you before I give in to that psycho!" Petrie couldn't stand to watch his friend get hurt. Mama Flyer knew exactly what he was thinking.

"Don't go, Petrie!"

"But Littlefoot my friend!"

"I know, but it's too dangerous for you. I'll help Littlefoot. You stay here." Then she spotted something out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and suddenly gasped with joy. "Maybe we won't have to! Look, Petrie!" Petrie looked in the direction his mother was pointing and saw it as well. Pterano was hovering above the fast biters, and he was holding something they all knew the fast biters would hate.

"Uncle has fruits from Hidden Canyon!"

"Hey, dumbasses!" Pterano called from above. The fast biters all looked up and growled. Littlefoot smiled but then noticed what Pterano was planning. He immediately dropped to the ground and placed his two front feet on top of his head. Pterano grinned. "I brought you a little snack to eat! Try and catch it without crying!" At that moment, Pterano released the fruit and watched as they fell and splattered all over the sharpteeth. Tears began to flood from all eyes as they tried to brush the fruit juice off their faces. Fortunately for Littlefoot, the fast biters were not succeeding. Pterano mockingly laughed. "You morons are terrible at catching food!" One fast biter finally yelled out,

"Fall back!" The fast biters all sprinted around Littlefoot and fled until they were gone. When he felt like it was safe, the longneck slowly stood up. Petrie happily hopped out of his nest and flew towards his friend. He landed on Littlefoot's face and hugged.

"Oh Littlefoot! Me so worried about you!"

"I'm okay, Petrie, thanks to your uncle." He looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Pterano. How did you know the fast biters would react so strongly towards the fruit?" Pterano landed beside him.

"Let's just say I got lucky that time." He laughed as he dipped his finger in a puddle of fruit juice and licked it. "Delicious to us, painful to them. That works for me."

"Just don't do what your nephew did," Mama Flyer scolded, "and eat all the fruit off the trees." Littlefoot and Petrie both looked at each other and smiled nervously. Then Mama Flyer started scolding Littlefoot. "Littlefoot, you should have been more careful. They could have killed you!"

"I know," Littlefoot replied. "I'm sorry, but I was worried about Petrie. The fast biters are working with egg eaters, and they are trying to get us." Mama Flyer frowned.

"Why would they want to get to you children?" Petrie then realized what Littlefoot was getting at.

"You mean bad egg eaters from before?"

"Yeah," Littlefoot nodded. "It's only one of them, but I guess he got some friends of his own."

"It's far worse than that, boy!" Everybody jolted their heads in the direction of the voice, and they found none other than Ozzie. Behind him were a group of egg eaters, and they were holding Chomper and Cera with them.

"Cera! Chomper!" Littlefoot yelled in terror, but that fear switched to anger. "Let them go!"

"Why would I do that?" Ozzie laughed. "This is so much more fun for me!"

"Let the children go now!" Pterano yelled. "Do it if you know what's best for you!" Ozzie glared at Pterano.

"Are you threatening me, flyer scum?" Pterano gritted his teeth, and it took every bit of himself to not attack. Ozzie laughed again. "You know, considering the situation, you are in no position making the threats. If you don't want me to get rid of your precious brats, you'll do exactly as I say!"

"What do you want?" Mama Flyer asked. Ozzie then pointed at Littlefoot.

"I want him to suffer! I want him to pay for what he did to me!"

"You stay away you bully!" Petrie yelled. "Me no let you hurt him!"

"Oh isn't this precious?" Ozzie laughed even more. "The puny twerp thinks he is intimidating! That is priceless!" Even though both Cera and Chomper were gagged and couldn't speak, the cold look in their eyes screamed their hatred for Ozzie. The egg eater then dropped to a more menacing tone. "You _will_ surrender the longneck child to me. If you do, I will release these two. If not, you will never see them again, and that's a promise!"

"You monster!" Mama Flyer shouted. "What kind of maniac hurts children?"

"Somebody who is about to get the revenge he rightfully deserves," Ozzie responded. "Send the longneck child to the Great Wall, alone. Somebody will be waiting at the secret entrance near the wall. If I get word that anybody was with him, the deal is off!" He turned to the egg eaters behind him. "Let's go!" The egg eaters dispersed, taking Chomper and Cera with them. Before Ozzie left, Littlefoot stepped forward.

"You won't get away with this you creep! I'll save my friends and send you back to the Mysterious Beyond for good!" Ozzie turned his head back and smirked.

"I look forward to our next meeting, whelp, when you get what is coming to you." With that final remark, he ran off, leaving Littlefoot and the three flyers behind him.

Not far from the Great Wall, Strut was heading back to the Mysterious Beyond. He had failed in his attempt to convince the children that they were in danger, and now it seemed like he was too late. Hiding from the egg eaters and fast biters, Strut used this as his opportunity to flee. "What was I thinking?" he asked himself. "I should have known they would still have animosity towards me. I don't really blame them, but I really wanted to help them." The Great Wall was now in plain sight. "I guess there's nothing else I can do about it. If there's no way I can convince them, then that's it." He eventually made it to the Great Wall and was now walking past it to reach the secret pathway leading around it. As soon as he reached it, he turned around and looked back at the Great Valley one more time. "I hope the children remain safe," he prayed to himself.

He then turned around and headed down the path around the Great Wall. He eventually made it back into the Mysterious Beyond, but not long after he returned he stopped dead in his tracks. "What am I doing?" he asked himself. "I shouldn't give up like this? Those kids are in danger, and I have to do something to stop my brother. I don't care if they won't listen to me. I have to do something." Before he could start heading back, he overheard multiple footsteps approaching his way. Strut quickly sprinted and ducked behind a boulder as Ozzie and his fellow egg eaters and fast biters appeared, carrying Cera and Chomper with them. Strut gasped but closed his hand over his mouth to prevent being heard. "Oh no," he whispered. "He's got two of them!" He listened as Ozzie started barking out orders.

"You two!" he pointed to two egg eaters. "Stay here to make sure the kid comes alone! Remain hidden." He then addressed the rest of the egg eaters. "The rest of you will follow me!" He then addressed the fast biters in sharptooth tongue. "_You shall follow me as well!"_

_ "I don't think so,"_ one fast biter argued. _"We had a deal, remember? The sharptooth child is ours!"_

_ "This is not a discussion!" _Ozzie argued back. _"I need both of them for my plan to succeed! I am ordering you to come with me!"_ The fast biter glared at him.

_"The only reason why we agreed to help you was because of the sharptooth child. We want to make him pay for his defiance against our master Blacktail. He is ours to punish!"_

_ "I don't care!" _Ozzie yelled. _"You are not in charge here!"_

_ "If you go back on our agreement," _the fast biter threatened, _"then we are no longer allies, and there will be nothing stopping us from killing you all right now." _The other fast biters approached the group, preparing to strike. Ozzie didn't want to buckle down to their demands, but he wasn't stupid. He knew they would not survive if they tried to fight. He sighed, but then nodded.

_"So be it." _He looked at the egg eater holding Chomper. "Give the boy to them!" The egg eater quickly approached the fast biters and handed the young sharptooth over. Chomper tried to wriggle free, but unfortunately he was not strong enough. Cera could only glare at the fast biters as they held her friend by the throat. The fast biter looked back at Ozzie.

_"Our part in your scheme is finished. We will not attack you as long as we never see you or any of your followers come near us. Don't do something stupid that will cost you your life." _With that, he signaled for the rest of the fast biters to leave as the group fled in one direction. Ozzie sighed and shook his head.

"Pity. I wanted to torture him myself, but a deal is a deal. May he meet the same pain that he caused me, or worse." He turned back to his group. "Let's move!" The egg eaters left in the opposite direction while two remained hidden. Strut was too terrified to even think, but he quickly got himself together.

"This is getting out of hand. Ozzie has gone completely insane! What do I do now?" He thought long and hard about his next course of action. On one hand he could chase after the fast biters and save Chomper, but on the other end he could follow his brother and rescue Cera. Either way risked the life of the other hostage, but Strut knew he couldn't dawdle on it for too long. He finally came up with a decision and sighed. "I know I should follow my brother, but the sharptooth child is in greater danger. I will have to find another way to save the threehorn." Strut began to sprint in the direction the fast biters headed when out of nowhere a figured lunged out and pounced on top of him. Strut fell to the ground as the figure landed on top of him. He looked up and found a fast biter glaring hungrily at him. Panic began to spread throughout Strut's mind to the point where he was sweating with fear. "Please let me go!" Strut begged. "Please let me live!" Unfortunately, the fast biter could not understand him. It snarled and exposed his sharp teeth ready to bite and tear the skin off Strut's bones. The egg eater assumed he was done for, but at the last minute he thought of a crazy idea. Without hesitation, he blurted out in his best sharptooth tongue, _"Please...no...eat...me..."_ The fast biter froze in its assault, astonished that an egg eater like Strut could speak their language.

_"You can speak in the manner of the sharptooth. How is this possible?" _the fast biter interrogated. Surprised that he was able to stall the predator even a second more, he frantically tried to piece together a sentence.

_"Fast biters...Great Valley...sharptooth...child..."_ At this moment, the fast biter eased back. Something Strut had said clicked in its mind. It might have had something to do with Chomper, but Strut did not realize whom he was speaking to. The fast biter backed away from Strut and responded,

_"My name is Thud. If you wish to live, tell me about the sharptooth child."_

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**I greatly apologize for the long delay in this update. My life has been so incredibly hectic for reasons unbeknownst to me, so I've had to do with what I can. Hopefully there will not be a repeat of this long gap in updating, but I can't guarantee anything. So hopefully this chapter makes up for the long wait, and if not then I apologize for the let down. Please let me know what you think, and I thank you for being so patient with me.**


	6. Chapter 5

**The Land Before Time**

**Revenge III**

Chapter 5

Not long after the attack on the valley, the grown-ups rallied at the Circle of Stones to "discuss" the problem. Littlefoot and his friends stood beside Grandma and Grandpa Longneck, all shaken up from the kidnapping of Cera and Chomper. Littlefoot especially couldn't hide his concern for his friends, especially Cera. "I should have known something like this was going to happen. I could have saved Cera and Chomper if I knew they were coming."

"You can't blame yourself," Ali shook her head. "None of us were ready for this."

"She's right," Shorty agreed. "Even if you knew the egg eaters and fast biters were coming, there wasn't much you could have done." Littlefoot sighed.

"I guess you're right. I just don't want you guys to be in danger because of me anymore. I want it all to stop." Petrie landed on his head.

"No worry. We get friends back all right." Ducky nodded from on top Spike's back.

"We have always rescued our friends, and we will rescue them again. Yep yep yep." Spike didn't smile but nodded as well.

"Thanks everyone," Littlefoot faked a smile, but in the back of his mind he couldn't help but think otherwise. He didn't say anything though as the adults started their meeting. Grandpa Longneck was the first to speak up.

"This is a serious situation. Fast biters and egg eaters have joined together to invade our home."

"It's worse than we can imagine," Pterano added. "Apparently an egg eater whom Littlefoot encountered before has returned for payback, and he has kidnapped Chomper and Cera as bait."

"How dreadful!" Mama Swimmer cried. "Is this egg eater going to kill them?"

"I don't think so," Mama Flyer shook her head. "I don't know anything about this egg eater, but if he kills the two of them then he loses his leverage. He won't give them up until his demands are met." Grandma Longneck then looked down at Littlefoot.

"What does he want from you? Please tell us." Littlefoot stepped forward.

"The egg eater is named Ozzie. He wants me to go to the Great Wall, alone. If I don't, then Cera and Chomper are done for." Numerous murmurs of confusion and anxiety spread throughout the herd. Most of the adults refused to believe such an idea, but others became more worried by the second. Grandma Longneck spoke up.

"Littlefoot, you cannot trust this egg eater. He is simply using Cera and Chomper to get to you. You have no idea if he will even release them."

"I have no choice!" Littlefoot replied. "I'm not going to let Ozzie hurt them!"

"Calm down," Bron reassured his son. "We're going to save your friends, I promise." He turned to the rest of the herd. "We have to come up with a plan to meet the egg eater's demands without putting Littlefoot in danger. What if somebody were to follow him from a safe distance?"

"Or maybe a couple of us follow under trees?" Mama Swimmer suggested. "We could ambush them without causing harm to the children."

"That won't work," Pterano shook his head. "He made it clear that he wanted Littlefoot to come alone."

"I don't care what he says," Grandma Longneck argued. "I am not sending my grandson to that maniac alone!"

"Grandma, I don't like it any more than you do," Littlefoot admitted, "but I can't just sit here and do nothing." Shorty then stepped in.

"Why can't we just all go after them? We best them in numbers and strength, so we could easily beat them and save Cera and Chomper."

"I think you've been hanging around Mr. Threehorn too much," Ali joked, but then she noticed something odd. "Speaking of which, where is he?" More murmurs spread throughout the herd in response to Ali's comment. Mama Flyer took special notice of this.

"He's late. He's never late for a meeting." "She looked at Pterano. "Do you think he's grieving over Cera?" Pterano shook his head.

"His daughter may be a hostage, but he still would never miss a meeting, especially one at a crucial time like this." Now very worried, he turned to Grandpa Longneck. "Longneck, something's wrong. We have to find him.

"He must still be at his nest," Grandpa Longneck guessed. He then turned to Bron. "Bron, please go and make sure he's all right." Bron nodded and turned to leave the area, but Littlefoot stepped in front of him.

"I'm coming with you," he pleaded to his father.

"Littlefoot, stay here with your grandparents," Bron instructed. "If there are more of them out there, I don't want you to get hurt."

"Dad, please take me with you! Cera is in danger because of me! Ozzie took her and Chomper to get to me! Say whatever you want but you know it's true! I have to tell him I'm sorry!" Bron couldn't come up with a plausible rebuttal, so he simply stared at his son. He finally nodded.

"Okay, but stay close to me." He looked back at Grandpa Longneck. "I'll keep him safe, I promise."

"Please, be careful," Grandma Longneck warned. With that, Bron and Littlefoot left the herd and headed to Threehorn's nest. Ali, Shorty, Ducky, Petrie, and Spike all looked out as their friend disappeared into the night.

Not far from the Circle of Stones, a threehorn cautiously but quickly sped through the valley in an attempt to return to her nest. Fortunately, she did not run into any straggling fast biters or egg eaters, but after seeing them retreat back to the Mysterious Beyond she knew she had to be careful. "Cera. Topsy," she whispered to herself. "Please, be safe." Tria continued to sprint through the trees until her nest came into sight. The only thing she saw at first was a large, dark gray threehorn body, and she immediately recognized it as Threehorn. "Topsy," she muttered in relief. Unfortunately, her relief quickly turned into shock when the gray turned out to be mixed with red, and a lot of it. "No," she whispered as Threehorn's mortally wounded body came into full view. "Topsy!" she cried out. The injured Threehorn looked up at his mate.

"Tria," he whispered in great pain. "Thank the beyond you are safe. Where is Tricia?"

"She's hiding with the others. They'll be safe as long as they don't leave the mud pools. Topsy, what happened?" Tria pleaded frantically. "Where's Cera?"

"Cera," Threehorn gritted his teeth. "She was taken. Fast biters and egg eaters attacked, and they took her and Chomper."

"No," Tria was now struck with complete and total fear. She feared for her stepdaughter's safety, but she also feared for Threehorn's condition. His body was riddled with bite marks and gashes, all rendering him unable to stand. Tears began to fall from Tria's eyes. "What do they want with her?"

"I don't know," Threehorn replied, "but it has something to do with Littlefoot."

"What does he have to do with it?"

"One of the egg eaters knows Littlefoot from before. I don't know what Littlefoot did to piss him off, but he's come back out of vengeance. He wants to lure Littlefoot out of the valley, and Cera and Chomper are the bait." Threehorn coughed and moaned, and Tria knelt down.

"Don't talk. Just stay quiet. You've lost a lot of blood, but it's going to be okay."

"Tria," Threehorn shook his head, "there's nothing you can do. I've lost too much already, and I can't stand."

"Don't say that!" Tria yelled. "Don't say things like that! You're going to be okay!"

"Listen to me," Threehorn interrupted. His voice had now dropped to a constant whisper. "You have to remain strong, Tria. You must, for Tricia and Cera's sake."  
"I can't," Tria sorrowfully replied. "Not without you!"

"You _are_ strong," Threehorn assured. "You have always been strong, even when I was foolish and made many mistakes." He closed his eyes, as a tear now fell from his eye. "I love you so much, Tria."

"I love you too, Topsy." Tria nuzzled Threehorn's face, crying the hardest she had ever cried in her life. The warmth from her face soothed Threehorn, and he smiled.

"Threehorn!" a voice called out. The two looked up to find Bron and Littlefoot approaching. The two longnecks froze when they saw Threehorn's body, and Bron lowered his head. "Threehorn, I should have seen if you were okay sooner. I'm so sorry!"

"Why are you apologizing?" Threehorn asked. "None of this is your fault. Please forgive me, for all of the hardships you and I went through." Bron nodded.

"Just promise me you'll be okay."

"I'll be fine," Threehorn responded, then he turned his attention to Littlefoot. "Come here, Littlefoot." Littlefoot slowly stepped towards Threehorn, still in complete shock of finding him hurt. "Littlefoot, I know I've done many things in the past against you and your family. I've always viewed you and your grandparents as the leaders of the herd, but I could never accept that. In my attempts to lead, I have made several hurtful and stupid remarks to you and your family." He moaned again in pain, knowing he had limited time left and had to make this worth every word. "I have two requests for you, if you would be willing to grant them. First, I ask that you please forgive me for all the trouble I have caused you and your family."

"Mr. Threehorn, I understand all of your actions," Littlefoot replied. "You have always been concerned for the safety of the Great Valley."

"Even so, members of a herd do not constantly harass and insult other members. Everything I have done against your family has been inexcusable. I beg for your forgiveness."

"Mr. Threehorn, I've never held a grudge against you, and I know that my Grandpa never has either." Not knowing what to do, Littlefoot looked up at his father. Bron silently nodded, and Littlefoot looked back at Threehorn. "I forgive you, Mr. Threehorn." Threehorn humbly bowed his head.

"Thank you, Littlefoot." His voice started to slip even more. Using every ounce of life he had left, he asked his second request. "I know how much you care about my daughter. I realize you two have been through a great deal together, and I understand that. I'm not going to tell you that you are not allowed to love her because you are not a threehorn. As my apology to Cera, I will allow the two of you to be together." Littlefoot now began to tear up, but he nodded and smiled.

"Thank you, Mr. Threehorn. I promise I will treat her with the upmost respect."

"I know you will," Threehorn agreed," but that is not my request." He stopped and moaned yet again, knowing in a couple minutes he would not be able to speak again. "I implore you. Find my daughter, save her, and kill the bastard who took her."

"I will," Littlefoot nodded. "I promise."

"Thank you." Threehorn closed his eyes and laid his head against the ground. "I will never forget this herd, and everything we have been through, both good and bad."

"Topsy!" Tria cried again, but it was no use. She watched as her mate exhaled one last time and was gone. A dead silence fell among the group. Nobody made any movement for minutes, all frozen by the sheer shock of the death of their fallen herd member. Tria buried her head next to Threehorn's and sobbed uncontrollably. "Topsy!" she kept repeating his name, hoping he would wake up. Bron lowered his head and nuzzled Littlefoot, both of whom were equally filled with grief. "TOPSY!"

**Sorry for the delay, my life has been hectic as always. Anyway, I'm also sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter than before, but I felt like this was enough for this chapter. I hope this chapter has the emotional impact that I was going for, and I hope nobody is too offended for the death of Threehorn.**

**As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, and please let me know what you think.**


	7. Chapter 6

**The Land Before Time**

**Revenge III  
**

**Chapter 6**

Meanwhile, in the Mysterious Beyond, Thud and Strut were in pursuit of the fast biter group that took Chomper. Thud's keen sense of smell was certainly aiding in their search, but Strut was too terrified to contribute anything. He was astonished that Thud had spared his life, but now all he could think about was fighting the fast biters to save Chomper. Fighting wasn't the problem; it was whom he would have to fight that scared the daylights out of him. He stayed close to Thud, almost as if he were literally attached to him, but at the same time he kept a certain distance in case Thud decided to change his mind and feast on him for dinner. _"So... why... help... child...?"_ Strut asked, his voice shaking.

_"Let's just say I owe the kid my life_,"Thud responded.

_"Save... you?" _Strut asked again, and Thud glared at him.

_"For having stayed in the Mysterious Beyond for so long, your sharptooth is disgraceful."_ He then looked forward, not paying attention to Strut's gulp. _"Yes, he did save my life. It's something I don't want to relive, so lets just leave it at that."_

_"Why?"_ Strut asked a third time. This time Thud didn't look back at him, he simply raised his head and replied,

_"I'm really hungry right now. I haven't had anything to eat all day. If you don't want to become my meal I suggest you stop talking right now."_ Strut instantly clasped his hands over his mouth and stepped back. Thud laughed and taunted, _"You're such a weakling. What are doing here all by yourself?"_

_ "Brother,"_ Strut replied. _"Brother... leave..."_ Thud laughed even harder.

_"I can honestly see why." _Strut didn't want to respond to this. For now, he would try and stay on Thud's good side and avoid becoming food. The fast biter continued to track the prints left by their target group. _"Any dinosaur that can't protect themselves deserves to die."_

_ "And you?"_ Thud shot his head back as Strut stared back at him, almost a bit mockingly. Strut himself wasn't entirely sure why he said it, but sort of happened upon instinct. _"Why... you... alive? Child... save... you..."_ Thud was really close to slashing at Strut's face at this point, but for some reason he restrained. What the egg eater had just said actually made sense in an ironic way. He shook hid head.

_"He should have left me to die there. He shouldn't have set me free from that rockslide. For all he knew I would have killed him right there."_

_"Maybe... wrong... impression..."_ Strut suggested. As he said this, he began to wonder to himself. "Maybe I've had the wrong impression of these children all this time. I mean, they didn't _really_ do anything bad to us. It was mostly Ozzie who was so pissed off at them." Thud of course could not understand any of what Strut was mumbling, but he didn't really care. He couldn't get the young sharptooth out of his mind. The day the child saved him came back after all this time. He remembered it so clear in his mind. Thud didn't realize what he was doing, but he started explaining to Strut what had happened:

_Thud's tail was still pinned underneath the boulders as the sharptooth and swimmer hatchlings proceeded to make their way across the fallen tree leading them back to safety. They almost disappeared from Thud's sight completely until the sharptooth child stopped and turned towards him. Thud was a little confused as to why the child was looking at him, considering they had been enemies for as long as he could remember. "I guess you win, little biter," he called out. Thud hung his head down, accepting the fact that he was most likely going to die. He figured he deserved it if he couldn't free himself from the rocks, he just never expected when it would happen. At that moment, the sharptooth child turned around and ran back towards him, much to Thud's surprise. The swimmer called out to the sharptooth, most likely beckoning him to come back, but he still returned to Thud._

_ "I'm being nice, so don't eat me," the child informed. Thud was still trying to grasp the idea of the child offering to help, and for some reason he didn't attack. He stood up and nodded. The child climbed to the top of the rock pile and began picking up and throwing rocks. Thud was impressed that the child was able to move the majority of the rocks, considering his small size, but at the same time he felt ashamed that he was allowing him to help. He knew Red Claw would most likely never forgive Thud succumbing to this new low, but at the same time he didn't seem to care. All he knew was he wasn't going to die on the cliff. The sharptooth child managed to move the majority of the boulders off of the pile, much to Thud's surprise. The child hopped off the pile and looked at Thud. "You can do the rest yourself," he said as he then turned around and ran across the tree. Thud knocking the remaining rocks off of his tail until he was completely free. He then looked back as the sharptooth child disappeared from sight._

It never occurred to Strut that Thud could have had such an experience like that. He wanted to sympathize with, but he knew that Thud's pride wouldn't allow it. _"What...happen...next?"_ he asked.

_"I got across the gap," _Thud explained, _"and regrouped with my master and partner. That was it."_

_ "Chase...child?"_ Strut asked. Thud nodded.

_"Even though he saved my life, he was still an enemy. I had to follow orders because Red Claw would never understand what happened. If he found out that I let the kid live..."_ Thud trailed off a bit as he thought to himself. What exactly would Red Claw do if he found out he let the Chomper live? He had never really given much thought of it until now, but now that he did it made him wonder. At the same time, he shook his head and immediately dismissed the idea. _"Why am I even telling you this? I'm talking to my food damnit! If anything, I should kill you and find the child on my own!"_

_ "No...be...ashamed,"_ Strut insisted. _"Nothing...wrong...child...save...you."_

_ "It doesn't matter,"_ Thud argued. _"He is a Great Valley resident, and that makes him in league with the leaf eaters."_

_ "Maybe...Red Claw...forgive,"_ Strut suggested. This actually caught Thud off guard.

_"You really expect Red Claw would forgive something like this?"_

_ "Never...know," _Strut nodded. _"Tell...him...then...see."_ For a split second, Strut's words actually sank into his mind. Maybe the egg eater was right. Maybe if he finally admitted that Chomper had saved him, he wouldn't have to live with the shame and guilt any longer. Thud had to hand it to this egg eater. He never expected a weakling to have such strong words, even if the sharptooth translation was terrible. Nevertheless, he shook it off again, remembering who he truly was.

_ "Forget it," _he rejected. _"How could you of all dinosaurs understand fast biter pride? You, who is so spineless that you crawl to me for help."_ Strut had just about had it with Thud's constant insults at this point. Something in him snapped and he started ranting.

"You jumped me! I didn't crawl to you for help; you left me no choice! You think I'm the spineless one? As far as I'm concerned, you are the one who is spineless if you can't accept help from somebody else of your own kind! The kid saved your life and you find that shameful? How do you even live with yourself like this knowing that without his help you would still be on that cliff top dead? You're nothing but a coward!" Strut was breathing a little heavily after this rant. It was funny; it almost felt like he was yelling at his brother for a second. For the first time in a while, Strut was actually feeling pretty good about himself, as if he accomplished something for the first time in his life. Thud looked back at him with a confused glare He could tell that Strut was trying to insult him albeit a failed attempt.

_"Repeat that in sharptooth, egg eater."_ Of course, Strut didn't realize he had spoken in leaf, and all the triumph he felt quickly disappeared. He sighed and shook his head.

_"Never...mind,"_ he replied, hanging his head in shame and feeling like a complete and total idiot. Thud started laughing hysterically, but he stopped immediately in his tracks. Strut's head shot up as he noticed Thud squint his eyes and sniff the air. _"What?"_ Strut asked nervously. _"Find...something?"_

_"Fast biters," _Thud responded. _"Lots of them. Very close."_ Thud then caught another scent. He sniffed the air some more trying to pin point it, and when he did he snarled. _"The sharptooth child is with them."_

_"How...know?"_ Strut asked.

_"After being stuck on that cliff top, I can never forget his scent. It's the child, and these fast biters must be the ones you were foolishly looking for."_

_"What...waiting...for?"_ Strut asked. Thud glared at him.

_"You're joking, right?"_ Thud was beginning to question Strut's sanity at this point. _"You can't just waltz in to fast biter territory and expect to get out alive! They'll kill you on sight!"_

_ "No...choice," _Strut argued. _"Save...child."_ Thud could see there was no convincing him otherwise and shook his head.

_"You're stupider than I thought, but if you want to die trying to save this kid then don't let me stop you."_ Thud turned his head in the direction the scent was coming from, and sure enough he found who they were looking for. _"Over there."_ They crept up behind a large boulder and peeked out from behind. They watched as a group of fast biters circled around what looked like a small, purple sharptooth child. _"It's the sharptooth child,"_ Thud confirmed. Chomper's hands were tied behind his back, feet bound together, and jaw tied shut with vines. He wriggled on the ground, most likely trying to get free, but the fast biters were not going to let him get very far. A glimpse of hope began to swell within Strut, but that hope also came with insurmountable fear.

_"Fight...them?"_ he asked.

_"Yes," _Thud replied.

_"How?" _the egg eater trembled with the thought of a full-scale battle, but Thud only grinned.

_"We're going to get a little help."_ With that, Thud let out a mighty, screeching roar, completely catching Strut off guard.

_"What...you...doing?"_ he asked frantically. Before he got a response, Thud had already jumped out from behind the boulder. The screech of course got the attention of the other fast biters as they turned their attention to the source of the noise and snarled. Chomper looked up and his eyes widened with astonishment. He immediately knew it was Thud, but he had no idea what he was doing there. One fast biter stepped forward.

_"You are trespassing here," _he called out with a menacing tone._ "Turn around and leave, right now."_

_ "Oh sure,"_ Thud replied. _"I'll leave once you hand over the child!" _The fast biters all looked very confused, so Thud threatened them. _"If you give me the boy now, I won't have to kill you all."_ The fast biters all began to laugh simultaneously at the thought of one fast biter fighting them all.

_"That was a good one," _the fast biter remarked. _"The child is ours, and we are going to make him suffer. If you don't want to join him then I suggest you leave."_

_ "I'm glad you were too stupid to hand him over," _Thud replied as he flashed his claws. _"In a short bit, all of you will be lying on the ground dead."_ The opposing fast biter stepped forward, unleashing his claws as well.

_"You should have headed my warning. Now you will die."_ With that, he growled and lunged towards Thud. Strut was still hiding behind the boulder as he watched in fear.

_"Thud!"_ he called out, but Thud remained calm. As the fast biter leaped towards him, Thud reached out his claws and grabbed him by the throat. The fast biter struggled to break free as Thud clenched his throat tighter and tighter. Thud was reveling at the sight of the fast biter choking in his grip that he only squeezed tighter.

_"You should have headed MY warning," _Thud mocked. _"Now YOU will die." _In a split second, Thud thrust his claws forward, piercing the fast biter's stomach. The fast biter's eyes widened in sheer pain as if they were bulging out of his skull. Thud could feel the blood trickling down his arm and slowly flowing from under his claws as he stared a cold glare of death in the fast biter's eyes. _"I've never had to kill my own kind before," _he mocked some more. _"Consider this an honor."_ Thud then ripped his claws out from the fast biter's stomach and threw him to the side. The fast biter landed hard on the ground, never to stand up again.

"By the beyond," Strut whispered in a mixture of terror and amazement, still not getting out from behind the boulder. Thud then looked towards the egg eater.

_"If you're not going to help me fight, then at least grab the child!"_. Thud then spun around just in time as the fast biters by instinct attacked all at once. _"Now things get interesting,"_ he muttered as he dodged two incoming fast biters and slashed at the throat of another. He turned around as the two he dodged before came after him again. Thud slashed at the first fast biter's face and then ducked and slashed at the other's feet. The two fast biters fell to the ground in pain as Thud then knelt down and slit both throats. He quickly stood back up and dodged the attacks of two more fast biters before slashing at another's face. One fast biter managed to slash at Thud's back, but Thud merely flinched for a second before retaliating. _"Get the child!"_ he yelled towards Strut, who was surprisingly able to sneak past the fast biters unnoticed. As Thud continued the fight, Strut reached Chomper who was still wriggling on the ground.

"Thank goodness you aren't hurt," Strut said with relief as he knelt down to free the sharptooth hatchling. Chomper was stunned when he saw his rescuer, but for some reason he didn't seem frightened at all. When Strut first untied the vines closing his jaw, Chomper didn't burst out into rage but instead bewilderment.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I came to rescue you," Strut replied. Chomper was still extremely confused at this point, but he saw no point in arguing.

"How did you convince Thud to not kill you?"

"That wasn't easy," Strut commented as he unwrapped the vines binding Chomper's hands together. "Everything's going to be okay now. We're going to get you out of here." Strut untied Chomper's legs and helped him up to his feet.

"I don't know what to say," Chomper said in amazement. Before he could say anything else, Thud called out to them.

_"Get the child out of here!" _Thud wasn't getting tired, but the fast biters were certainly gaining up on him. After slashing at two more, one body slammed into him, forcing him to the ground. Thud tried to stand up, but a fast biter planted his foot on his throat, choking him. Thud tried to force himself up, but he was unfortunately pinned to the ground.

_"You're finished!" _the fast biter yelled as he prepared to strike, when all of a sudden a loud roar ripped through the air and shook the ground below them and trees around them. All of the fast biters stopped in their tracks as fear struck their hearts. Every single one of them recognized that roar, as did Strut and Chomper.

"It can't be," Strut whispered.

"It is," Chomper replied. "It's Red Claw." Out from behind the trees to the side, a blue fast biter lunged out and pounced on the fast biter pinning Thud. The blue fast biter made quick work of her target before approaching Thud and helping him up to his feet.

_"Nice to see you, Screech,"_ Thud acknowledged.

_"We figured that yell was you," _Screech replied, _"plus Red Claw picked up your scent."_

_ "I guess he's not far behind you then," _Thud concluded. The loud thuds coming from behind them proved him right as a giant sharptooth barreled through the trees. He bellowed a mighty roar and snarled at everybody beneath him.

_"Red Claw!"_ the fast biters screamed at once. Strut bolted towards the boulder and hid behind it again as Chomper could only stand and watch as Red Claw began attacking the fast biters. He slashed, kicked, and tail-whipped fast biters away left and right as they desperately tried to evade their attacker. Most ended up dead on the ground with only a few managing to escape. When the area was clear, Red Claw looked down upon Thud.

_"What is the meaning of this?" _he asked.

_"I came here looking for somebody,"_ Thud explained. He then turned his head towards Chomper. _"I found him."_ Screech and Red Claw both turned their attention towards Chomper and were both equally shocked.

_"What the hell is he doing here?"_ Screech demanded.

_"The fast biters were holding him hostage,"_ Thud explained again. _"They were going to kill him until I intervened, and then the two of you showed up." _Screech grinned.

_"Well now he's ours!"_ Chomper was horrified as Screech started to approach him, but Thud quickly stepped in front of her. _"What are you doing?" _Screech asked in confusion. _"Get out of my way!"_

_ "He is not to be harmed,"_ Thud ordered. Screech was so surprised that she couldn't come up with a response. Unfortunately for Thud, Red Claw finally spoke up.

_"Thud, what are you doing? That hatchling is one of those Great Valley children! They are our enemies!"_

_ "I know!" _Thud argued. He hesitated before continuing, but he knew that he had to say it. Thud didn't want to admit it, but Strut was right. If he was ever going to let go of the shame, he couldn't keep it a secret any longer. _"I owe the child my life,"_ he finally said. Chomper gasped in astonishment that Thud was standing up for him, something he never thought he would see happen. Screech was equally dumbstruck.

_"What are you talking about?"_ she asked. _"You don't owe that kid anything!"_

_ "I wonder," _Red Claw interjected. Thud knew Red Claw had an idea what he was talking about, even though Screech was completely lost. _"Are you referring to the incident on the cliff top, when you were trapped with this hatchling?"_ Thud glanced back at Chomper, who nodded while still shaking.

_"I...I helped Thud get off the cliff,"_ he admitted. _"His tail was pinned under a bunch of rocks, so I helped move them."_

_ "You never told us exactly how you escaped," _Red Claw added. Thud looked back at him and nodded as well. _"So, this kid saved your life, and you feel you have a debt to pay?"_

_ "I know he is the enemy," _Thud agreed, _"but I would have died if it weren't for him."_ Red Claw didn't speak for a few seconds, obviously contemplating what Thud had just shared. Chomper couldn't take the suspense any longer. He had no idea whether or not Red Claw would allow this allegiance between him and Thud, and he was praying that the mighty sharptooth would consider the thought some more. Unfortunately, Red Claw gestured him forward, and Chomper couldn't resist approaching him. Both Screech and Thud looked towards Chomper as Red Claw lowered his head to the child.

_"We may have had our differences in the past, but you saved Thud's life. Thank you, little biter."_ At that moment, a combination of relief and happiness filled Chomper's body. He couldn't believe that of all sharpteeth in the Mysterious Beyond, Red Claw was thanking him.

_"Th...thank you, Red Claw,"_ Chomper responded. Red Claw nodded and then turned his attention to Thud.

_"What do you wish to do with him?"_

_ "Fast biters and egg eaters invaded the Great Valley, and he was taken prisoner. I want to take him back, along with his egg eater friend."_

_ "Egg eater?" _ Screech repeated.

_"He must mean Strut,"_ Chomper commented. _"He's hiding behind that boulder over there."_ Chomper pointed to the boulder and then called out in leaf tongue. "Strut! It's okay! They won't hurt us! You can come out!" Strut slowly poked his head out from behind the boulder, eyes wide with terror. He slowly crept out from behind and stood in sheer fear of Red Claw.

_"Do we have to help him too?" _Screech complained.

_"Believe me,"_ Thud assured, _"I would personally love to make a snack out of him. He's too damn annoying, but he has a score to settle with his brother. So yes, he goes too."_

_ "Pity," _Red Claw commented. _"He looks good enough to eat."_

"What...what are they saying?" Strut asked nervously.

"They said," Chomper started, "that they are willing to take us back to the Great Valley, and that you..." he caught himself before repeating what Red Claw had said. "Red Claw thinks you look good." Everybody glanced at Chomper and he smiled nervously.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**Wow, I am so terribly sorry for the long delay with this chapter. College has gotten extremely hectic lately and I just couldn't find the time to sit down and work on this. I am so so so so so so so so so sorry for keeping you guys waiting. I promise I have not given up on this yet!**

**Anyway, I hope this chapter makes up for the ridiculous amount of waiting I put you guys through. If not, then I deeply apologize and will work to improve for later chapters.**

**As always, let me know what you think and for those who stuck with me, I am very grateful!**


	8. Chapter 7

**The Land Before Time**

**Revenge III**

**Chapter 7**

_"Daddy!" Cera called out. She tried to move towards her father, but she was unfortunately held in place by a vine, wrapped around her neck, that was tied tightly to the trunk of a tree. She could only watch in horror as fast biters pounced on top of her father from every direction and began biting and clawing at his flesh. Threehorn yelled out in pain as he was forced to kneel to the ground. "NO!" Cera cried out. "Daddy!" Threehorn tried to shake his attackers off of him, but his attempt proved futile. "DADDY!"_

Cera screamed herself awake, panting hard. The bright circle blinded her a bit as it shined high in the sky. She looked around and noticed numerous egg eaters clustered about. Some were still sleeping while others were in the process of waking up. Alarmed, Cera immediately stood up and attempted to run, but she was unable to move. Like in her dream, she was tied to a tree trunk by a vine around her neck. "You can't be serious," she groaned. Cera pulled as hard as she could, but the vine was too thick to pull loose. She then tried biting herself free, but that too proved ineffective. "This couldn't possibly get any worse."

"Going somewhere, little girl?" Cera turned around to see Ozzie grinning devilishly at her. "I wouldn't try to escape if I were you."

"Are you going to stop me?" Cera mocked. Ozzie glared at the threehorn.

"You know you wouldn't get past me, little girl. There is no point in trying to get back to the Great Valley."

"Oh please," Cera rolled her eyes. "I'd pulverize you in two seconds!" Ozzie wasn't amused by her pride at all. He stepped closer to her, his face almost pressed up against hers.

"You seem to forget who you are talking to, leaf eater."

"You're right. I forgot I was speaking to a dumbass egg eater."

"Are you aware that I could just kill now?" Ozzie was really losing patience at this point, and Cera could tell by the strain on his face.

"But you won't. You need me to get to Littlefoot."

"Maybe," Ozzie replied, "but your usefulness will end once I have your friend.

"Just wait!" Cera barked back. "When he gets here, you'll be sorry!"

"Is that so?" Ozzie laughed. "Good! I'm counting on your precious longneck coming to rescue you. It will make capturing him that much easier for me."

"Why are you after him?" Cera questioned angrily. "It was Chomper's parents who chased you into the Mysterious Beyond! Littlefoot had nothing to do with that!"

"He had everything to do with that!" Ozzie snapped back. "It was his friendship with the sharptooth child that caused his parents to come after us. You don't know what hell I experienced in the Mysterious Beyond, but you will soon enough!"

"You know, that wouldn't be such a bad thing," Cera scornfully admitted. "It would get me away from your ugly-ass face." Ozzie pulled away from Cera and turned away from her, observing his group of egg eaters.

"Your cute attempts to anger me can only go so far."

"Aww, am I pissing you off?" Cera laughed. "I'm not sorry."

"You will be when I force you to watch your precious Littlefoot suffer."

"Littlefoot will outsmart you," Cera replied confidently, "and then he'll give you the beating you deserve!"

"You mean like your father was going to?" Ozzie mocked again.

"Shut up!" Cera yelled. Ozzie turned back towards her and laughed even harder.

"Ooh, I think I brought up a sour subject. It is a shame I had to rough him up like that, but he left me no choice." Cera tugged again at the vine, still unable to break herself free.

"More like you hid behind your fast biters like the coward you are!"

"My, my, such fire burns inside of you," Ozzie remarked.

"You won't be so smug when my daddy comes for you!"

"And what makes you think your father will even be able to come?" Ozzie asked maliciously. "Last I checked he could barely stand."

"Nothing can keep him down for long," Cera replied, trying as hard as she could to keep her confidence up. "Nothing ever has, and nothing ever will." At that moment, an egg eater approached the two of them and approached Ozzie.

"What is your report?" Ozzie asked promptly.

"The longneck child has not yet arrived at the Great Wall."

"What?" Ozzie responded out of shock. "I would have thought he would have jumped at the chance to saving his little girlfriend here."

"Well apparently all of the Great Valley residents are mourning for a fallen member of their herd." This caught both Ozzie and Cera's attention immediately.

"A fallen herd member, you say?" Ozzie asked with great interest.

"What are you talking about?" Cera pleaded. "Who are they mourning?" The egg eater glanced at her, and grinned. That single glare struck fear into Cera's heart, and at that moment she began to wonder who he was talking about. _Who are they mourning? I can't think of anybody who was in danger of dying. The only one who was injured recently was..._ At that moment, Cera was beginning to understand whom the egg eater was referring to. Her eyes widened with fear at the realization and her body began to tremble. "N... No... I... It... can't... be..." Ozzie smirked as he knew whom the threehorn was thinking of by her reaction.

"It looks like your father won't be coming for you after all," he smugly concluded. Cera didn't want to believe it; she couldn't believe it. There was no possible way her father would fall like this, but the more she thought about it the more it sank in. The threehorn felt her breath leave and her knees began to shake violently.

"D...d...daddy?" Tears began to flood her eyes as she dropped to the ground in intense pain. _No... It's not possible... He can't be dead! He can't be! _Cera kept frantically repeating it in her mind until she found herself screaming it. "He can't be dead!" Her world was spinning, and she couldn't feel anything but immense grief. Memories of her and her father flashed rapidly in her mind, and they disappeared just as quickly as they appeared. Cera slammed her head into the ground, sobbing the hardest in her life. Ozzie glanced over at the egg eater.

"You're dismissed." The egg eater nodded and left in the other direction. Ozzie then looked down upon Cera. "Where is your pride now?" He then turned around and left to inspect on the other egg eaters, leaving a completely broken threehorn still sobbing on the ground. She finally pulled her head off the ground and let out an ear-splitting yell that woke up all of the egg eaters and could have been heard from the other side of the world.

Meanwhile, the residents of the Great Valley were in deep mourning for the loss of Threehorn. Grandpa and Grandma Longneck, with much help from the other grown-ups, had buried his body during the night so the children wouldn't have to see it. Now all of the dinosaurs had gathered at the Circle of Stones to hold a remembrance ceremony for their fallen herd member. Nobody would have ever expected that out of everybody in the herd, Threehorn would have died. Despite Threehorn's low level of popularity, there was nothing but respect for his passing.

Grandpa Longneck was the first to speak up. "We suffered a great loss last night. Mr. Threehorn may have been a hothead at times, but he was one of the most dedicated members of this herd. His unconditional care and devotion to his family may have put us at odds with each other, but nevertheless, he did almost everything in his life with only the best intentions in mind." Grandpa Longneck looked over to Bron, as he figured he had something he wished to say about Threehorn.

"I didn't know him as well as the rest of the herd did," Bron admitted, "and at first, I wished I never knew him in the first place. He and I had very rough moments when I first arrived in the Valley, and I knew that he wanted me to leave. Then, I witnessed a vulnerability to him, and I finally understood exactly the type of dinosaur he was."

He looked back at Grandpa Longneck, and then towards the center of the circle. "He cared about nothing else but the safety of his family and of the Great Valley." Before he continued, he a couple tears dropped from his eyes, as he began to thing about his mate. "In a way, he and I were alike. We both lost our mates after the Great Earthshake. He was fortunate enough to find another, where I wasn't." He then looked over to Tria, who was still in deep tears. "He was a good threehorn," Bron added, and Tria nodded before stepping forward a bit.

"I won't deny how much of a hothead he was. I met him when we were younger. He was handsome, but he had a real short temper. He always wanted to prove that he was the tough, but most didn't really care for him. We then drifted apart, and I never saw him for some time. Then I moved in to the Great Valley and I reunited with him, except there was something different about him. He changed."

It was hard for her to speak, but she knew she had to keep speaking for his sake. "At least, he was willing to try and change for me. He may have still had his arrogant moments, but he had something else to live for instead of himself. He brought me in to his family, and then we expanded it even further. Topsy gave me something I never had before, and I can never repay him for that. I loved him with all my heart, and I always will love him."

While the rest of the grown-ups dropped their heads in silence, Littlefoot and his friends were unable to hold back their own tears. "He helped keep everybody safe," the young longneck struggled to speak. "In the end, he died trying to save Cera." Bringing Cera up caused Littlefoot to cry even harder. Apart from the death of Threehorn, Littlefoot couldn't help but blame himself for Cera's kidnapping, and his friends could see it in his face. Grandma Longneck lowered her head down and nuzzled her grandson.

"Perhaps you and your friends should go and play," she whispered.

"Okay," Littlefoot replied. As he and his friends left the circle, Grandma turned her attention back to the rest of the herd.

"Threehorn's death is a tragedy of no bounds, but we now have another problem."

"The egg eater who led the attack," Grandpa Longneck began to explain, "has kidnapped Cera and Chomper and wants to trade them for our grandson."

"Ducky told me about this egg eater," Mama Swimmer spoke up. "She told me that she and her friends ran into them numerous times, and each time the egg eaters tried to get rid of them."

"I guess he hasn't given up then," Bron thought. "He must still have a grudge against them after all this time."

"What worries me," Pterano added, "is that somehow the egg eater formed an alliance with fast biters just to get in the Great Valley."

"He must be really desperate to get to Littlefoot if he had to go to those measures," Mama Flyer guessed.

"Whatever the case, we have to make a decision upon his demands," Grandma Longneck continued. "He demanded that we send Littlefoot to the Great Wall in exchange for Cera and Chomper's release."

"While I'm sure none of us want to put your grandson in any jeopardy," Tria spoke, "we have to do something if we are going to save Cera and Chomper."

"What if somebody follows Littlefoot to the Great Wall?" Mama Swimmer suggested as she looked over at Bron, Grandma and Grandpa Longneck. "One of you could just squash the egg eaters."

"We'd be spotted easily," Bron pointed out. "The egg eaters would escape before we could reach them."

"We could send a flyer," Grandma Longneck thought. "They could hide within the trees and remain undetected."

"They may have spies located around the area," Mama Flyer brought up. "It would be too risky for one of us to try and get in close."

"I know what Topsy would say," Tria said, almost choking on her words. "He would say we go and use full force against the egg eaters."

"Again, we would be seen coming from far away," Grandpa Longneck replied unhappily. He then sighed as he thought more about his grandson. "I can't even imagine how Littlefoot must feel about this whole situation."

"I know how much he cares for Cera," Tria added. "She's told me before that they've known each other since the Great Earthshake."

"To see one of his closest friends in danger," Grandma Longneck lamented. "It's wrong. He shouldn't have to go through this."

"We all wish he didn't have to," Bron agreed, "but Littlefoot is strong for his age. I know he'll find a way to get through this."

"BRON!" Everybody turned to the source of the yell when they saw Shorty and Ali sprinting towards them, both with looks of sheer panic on their faces

"Shorty? Ali? What are you two doing here?" Grandma Longneck asked. "You should be playing with the others."

"Speaking of which," Bron added, "where are they?" Ali was shaking with fear and couldn't bring herself to speak. She looked at Shorty as he stared up at Bron.

"Bron," he chocked on his words, "Littlefoot is gone!"

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**So it's official. Writer's block completely sucks! I sound like a broken record, but I am super extremely sorry for the incredibly long wait for this chapter. I'm close to finishing my sophomore year of college so things have been absolutely crazy for me. Again, I have not given up on this and do plan on finishing it.**

**I'm sorry if this chapter was not worth the long wait I put everybody through. I know it's not as long as previous chapters, but I felt like I needed to put something out so you guys would at least have an update. I promise I will make up for it in the next chapter. Hopefully when the summer starts I will be able to update a little more frequently, and I do plan on finishing this before the summer ends.**

**On a side note, I know it may seem a little unrealistic that Threehorn's body would be buried so quickly. I like to think that Bron, Grandma and Grandpa Longneck could possibly dig something, along with the help of the other adults. The main reason why I put this in was so the children would not have to see his body. If that's not a good enough explanation, then again I apologize.**

**Those of you who stuck it out, I can't tell you how grateful I am. Please know that I am truly working ever chance I get on this, as I want to make this story as good as I can.**

**As always, please let me know what you thought about this!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The bright circle lit up the usually dark and grim Mysterious Beyond, casting the shadows of dead trees and bones from deceased dinosaurs. Red Claw, Screech and Thud had agreed to grant Chomper and Strut safe passage through the Mysterious Beyond and back to the Great Valley. Red Claw took point and led the group with Screech close to him and Thud not too far behind them. Strut stayed very close to Chomper so the young sharptooth could translate everything he said, but more importantly to stay away from Red Claw and the fast biters. He could see out of the corner of his eyes fast biters and other sharpteeth cowering behind boulders and tree trunks, more than likely afraid of Red Claw. _Even in the Mysterious Beyond, Red Claw is feared. At least we won't have to worry about fighting anybody trying to get out of here._ Strut had to give Chomper credit. For being so young and small, he certainly was not showing his fear of the giant sharptooth. "How much farther until we reach the Great Valley?" Strut anxiously asked. "The sooner we are out of this nightmarish place the better."

"It shouldn't be much farther," Chomper replied. "I remember most of this area, and it looks like we're getting closer."

"Good," Strut nodded. "Once we return to the valley we can go after my brother and rescue your friend."

"I guess I owe you an apology," Chomper added. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you. I should have listened to you when you tried to warn us before."

"Don't worry about it," Strut replied. "I don't blame you for being skeptical of my intentions. Our last encounter didn't really end on the friendliest of terms."

"Yeah, how about we don't bring that up," Chomper suggested. "I'm only now starting to trust you, so let's not ruin that." While they walked, he turned his attention towards Thud who was remaining silent. "Just out of curiosity, how did you manage to convince Thud not to eat you?"

"Believe me, it wasn't easy," Strut answered. "He was about to kill me, but then I mentioned you and he stopped."

"That's strange," Chomper admitted as he turned his head over towards the fast biter. "I would never have expected Thud to come looking for me like this."

"Well he did mention that day the two of you were stuck on the cliff quite a bit," Strut explained. "It seems like he felt obligated to save you after you helped him."

"Did he really say that?" Chomper asked in disbelief.

"That's what I gathered," Strut answered. "From the sound of it, his pride is preventing him from letting go of it." Strut looked up at Thud and could tell the cliff was still on his mind. The fast biter's walk carried a sense of burden, remorse and pain. Strut couldn't help but pity him. "I think you should talk to him about it. Try to help him let go of it."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Chomper shook his head. "He doesn't seem to be in the talking mood."

"True, but sooner or later you need to confront him about it."

"You really think he'll listen to me?"

"It can't hurt to try."

"Ok, I guess I'll give it a shot." Chomper quickened his pace a little until he was walking next to Thud. The fast biter seemed very deep in thought, as if something was troubling him. _"Thud?"_ Chomper spoke up in sharptooth.

_"What do you want, little biter?" _Thud replied, not even glancing at him.

_"I... uh... I wanted to thank you for saving me from those fast biters," _Chomper said. _"They would have killed me for sure if you hadn't shown up."_

_"Save your gratitude," _Thud closed his eyes. _"I didn't save you because I wanted to."_

_ "Then why did you come for me?"_

_ "Because I had a debt to pay."_

_ "You mean after the cliff?"_ Bringing this up caused Thud to glare at Chomper _"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you still remembered that day."_

_ "How could I forget it?" _Thud asked. _"I was pinned down on that cliff by rocks. I almost died that day, but I didn't." _He turned his head away from Chomper in a sense of disgust.

_"You say that as if it were a bad thing." _Chomper couldn't tell at first, but it started to seem like Thud didn't want leave the cliff. _"Thud, you sound like you wanted me to leave you to die."_

_ "How very astute of you,"_ Thud growled. _"Now shut up and leave me be?"_

_ "Why?" _Chomper asked. _"Why are you mad that I saved you? Why do you hate me so much for it?"_

_ "Mad? You think I'm mad?" _Thud was becoming angrier the more they talked to the point where he was now yelling with rage. _"I'm more than mad! I'm disgraced! Disgraced by the fact that a fierce fast biter such as myself was saved by a little hatchling like you."_

"He brought up the "little" thing," Chomper muttered in leaf. "This sounds familiar."

_"Besides, you and your group of hatchling friends are the enemy," _Thud ranted. _"We are not supposed to help each other out! We are not supposed to even speak with each other! Do you know how it feels to be saved by your enemy?" _

_"Well now I do," _Chomper replied. Hearing Chomper's response caused Thud to curl his claws together tightly and grit his teeth a bit. He then relaxed, realizing how pointless it was to get upset.

_"Forget it,"_ he said. _"You will never understand anything."_

_ "Why?" _Chomper protested. _"Why can't I understand how you feel?"_

_ "I said drop it!" _Thud shot back. _"Bring it up again and I will make you regret it!"_

_ "Thud, we both know you won't do that," _Chomper replied without an ounce of doubt in his voice.

_"Oh really?" _Thud gritted his teeth. _"What makes you so sure about that?"_

_ "You have a debt to pay," _Chomper answered. _"You said so yourself. You saved me because you owe me after I helped free you from that cliff. If you killed me, you would never be able to repay it, and then you would be nothing more than a weak fast biter that was saved by an even weaker hatchling."_

_ "How...dare...you..."_ For a good ten seconds, Thud really wanted to lash out at Chomper, but he restrained himself from doing so. Proving Chomper's suspicions right, Thud simply continued walking and didn't that moment, Chomper knew what Strut had said before was right.

_"You hate me because you think I hurt your pride when I saved you," _he concluded.

_ "When you are a fast biter, one of the most feared sharpteeth in the world, you can't afford to look weak," _Thud muttered to himself, as if he was in his own world, detached from the group.

"He sounds an awful lot like Cera right now," Chomper murmured in leaf.

_ "Why did you do it?" _Thud questioned. _"Why didn't you leave me to die on that cliff? Why did you save me?"_

_ "To teach you a lesson," _Chomper explained. _"You kept calling me little, but in the end a little hatchling was able to help save a larger fast biter."_

_ "That can't be the only reason," _Thud pressed on. _"There's more to it, isn't there? You must have thought saving me would convince me not to attack you ever again. Maybe you thought we would form a truce after you freed me." _

_ "I don't know," _Chomper answered. _"I mean at first, those were running through my mind, but in the end neither of them were why I saved you." _Chomper hesitated before continuing, as this was something he had never really given much thought to. It seemed so simple to him before, but now he wasn't sure what to make of it._ "I guess I couldn't walk away if I knew I could help you. If you had died and I didn't do everything I could to save you, I don't think I would ever have been able to forgive myself." _Chomper turned his head away from Thud and looked back forward. _"Even if you consider me as your enemy, I am still a sharptooth just like you, and I don't want to see another of my kind die."_

Thud wasn't exactly sure how to respond, nor was he sure how to feel. Part of him felt disgusted that the hatchling showed an ounce of concern for him, and another part felt the need to scold him even more. At the same time, a small part of him felt something he never thought he could. It took him by surprise, but it was at this moment that Thud started to respect Chomper. It was really strange, but at the same time it felt right. Thud then did something else he didn't expect to do. To both his and Chomper's surprise, he smiled. _"You are a very strange sharptooth, kid," _he said. _"I don't think I've ever met any like you."_

_ "That's because there are none like me," _Chomper responded. _"I'm not like you. I'm not like Screech. I'm definitely nothing like Red Claw. I am who I choose to be and I am not ashamed of it."_

_ "So I see," _Thud muttered. He didn't say anything else after that. He only pondered in silence what Chomper had told him. From behind them, Strut couldn't help but smile a little. Even though he couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, seeing Thud smile filled the egg eater with a sense of hope and relief.

"That's great," he said to himself. "Maybe Thud is finally learning to let go of that incident." He closed his eyes and chuckled a little as the group continued to trek through the Mysterious Beyond.

...

Back in the Great Valley, Littlefoot was approaching the meeting spot near the Great Wall, with the full intention of giving himself in to the egg eaters. He continued to tread through the trees towards the clearing, pondering if he in fact was making the right decision. "I have to do this," he continued to assure himself. "I have to give myself in. If I do, then he will let Cera and Chomper go." As he stepped out from under the trees near the Great Wall, Littlefoot couldn't help but take notice of the beauty of the area. He could feel the warmth of the bright circle and a breeze gently brush the back of his neck. It was actually one of the more peaceful days in the valley, and it almost made Littlefoot forget all of the happenings from the night before. "Beautiful," he mused and smiled a little. "I wish it were like this every day." Littlefoot stopped moving and stood still, embracing the atmosphere around him. For a second, it seemed like all his problems vanished instantly, leaving him with nothing but serenity. For the first time in a while, things seemed right. There was no fighting. There was no fear for his friends. There was nobody coming after him. There was nothing, but tranquility. It was amazing, and he didn't want it to end.

"So you decided to show up after all." A cold voice broke the peaceful setting, and Littlefoot remembered why he was there. He turned towards the source of the voice and saw two egg eaters approaching him, grinning devilishly. "You've come to your senses then?" one asked.

"I.." Littlefoot knew what he had to say, but he hesitated before saying it. _Come on Littlefoot, you have to do this. For Cera and Chomper. For everybody else in the valley. _"I'm here to turn myself in."

"Smart boy," the other egg eater commented. "You have made this very easy for Ozzie."

"I don't care what he does to me," Littlefoot shot back. "Just as long as he holds up his end of the deal." One of the egg eaters knelt down and placed the tip of his claw under Littlefoot's chin.

"You are in no position to make demands brat," he threatened. "If you don't want anything to happen to your precious friends, then you'll do exactly what Ozzie says."

"That doesn't mean I have to take orders from you," Littlefoot mocked. "You're nothing more than Ozzie's slave. All you do is his dirty work, and then you kiss up to him so he doesn't deem you completely useless." Angered, the egg eater grabbed Littlefoot's neck and lightly squeezed it.

"Don't push it punk. I could kill you right here, right now if I wanted to." Littlefoot glared back at him, not saying a word. The egg eater proceeded to squeeze his neck tighter, but the other egg eater grabbed his arm.

"Enough," he interjected. "He's not yours to kill. Only Ozzie has that right." Realizing what Ozzie would do to him if he didn't comply, the egg eater released Littlefoot.

"You're lucky Ozzie wants you alive," the egg eater hissed. "Otherwise, there would be nothing stopping me from strangling you."

"Lucky me," Littlefoot responded sarcastically. "Just take me him already so we can get this over with."

"With pleasure," the two egg eaters responded in unison. With that, they turned around and started heading towards the path around the Great Wall. Littlefoot sighed and began to follow them. He took one look back at the Great Valley as he walked away from it, knowing that he would more than likely never see it again, and a tear trickled down his cheek. _I'm sorry everybody. I love you Grandma and Grandpa. I love you Dad. Ducky. Petrie. Spike. Ali. I'll miss you all. Goodbye._ He closed his eyes in sadness, but before he turned his head around he thought he caught something in the distance. It was faint at first, but it continued to grow in size. It looked like one blob, but then it began to take the form of a figure. That figure looked like it had something else on top of it. There was another figure flying not too high above it. They kept growing and growing in size, and Littlefoot immediately gasped. _No. What are you guys doing? Go back! Go back!_ Unfortunately, one of the egg eaters overheard his gasp.

"Enjoying your last glimpse of the Great Valley twerp?" But when he turned around and looked in the same direction, he saw exactly what Littlefoot was hoping he wouldn't. "We've got company!" he yelled.

"The kid's friends!" the other shouted. "We should have known he wasn't alone!"

"No!" Littlefoot pleaded. "I didn't tell them to come! I swear!"

"You thought you could trick us, huh kid?" one egg eater asked. "You thought you could lead them right to where we were headed. Then they could come back with help!"

"No! I didn't do it! Honest!"

"You miserable little hatchling!" The other egg eater backhanded Littlefoot across the face, causing the longneck to stumble to the ground. "The deal is off!" He turned to his partner. "We have no choice. Back to Ozzie! Now!" The two began sprinting towards the exit to the valley, and Littlefoot scrambled back to his feet.

"No! Wait! Come back!" Littlefoot chased after them, but he tripped and fell back to the ground. "Please come back!" he cried out. Unfortunately, it seemed like the egg eaters were out of reach. Then, out of nowhere, a giant tail whipped the egg eaters, launching them backwards and to the ground. A loud, booming roar ripped through the air, and Littlefoot was instantly stricken with fear. "Red Claw!" he screamed. Sure enough, the massive sharptooth broke through the trees and stomped towards the egg eaters. Littlefoot bolted for a nearby boulder to hide behind as the egg eaters stumbled and shuffled back trying to escape the vicious sharptooth. Red Claw raised his left foot and thrust it towards his targets. One egg eater managed to roll to the side at the last minute, but the other was too stricken with fear to move and was crushed. Terrified, the egg eater staggered back to his feet and attempted to flee, but the moment he turned his head he was immediately pounced to the ground by Screech.

_"Going somewhere?"_ she hissed. The egg eater screamed in fear as the fast biter lunged for his throat. Littlefoot adverted his eyes, cringing at the sounds of the predator feasting on her prey, but eventually he peeked his head out from behind the boulder. Both egg eaters were very much dead, with Red Claw letting out a mighty roar of triumph. Littlefoot began to creep back into the trees when a voice called out to him.

"Littlefoot!" Chomper dashed past Red Claw towards the young longneck. "Littlefoot! It's okay!"

"Chomper!" Littlefoot leaped out from behind the boulder to meet his friend. The two caught up to each other and the sharptooth clung to Littlefoot's leg. Tears of happiness flowed freely from both friends' eyes. "Chomper, I thought I had lost you forever!" Littlefoot choked.

"I'm okay." Chomper assured him. "I'm back safe and sound."

"Oh Chomper, I'm so sorry," Littlefoot apologized. "All of this is my fault. I should have protected you. I should have saved you from the egg eaters."

"Don't say that," Chomper replied. "You did everything you could. All that's important now is that I'm alive and well." Littlefoot nuzzled Chomper's cheek and smiled.

"I'm so happy you are all right," he whispered.

"Me too," Chomper answered. The young sharptooth then turned back and looked up at Red Claw. _"Thank you for bringing me back."_

_ "Our deed is done," _Red Claw replied. _"Now we must return to the Mysterious Beyond."_

_ "Consider this truce over," _Screech added, but Red Claw glared at her disapprovingly. The fast biter snorted and Red Claw turned back to Chomper.

_"Because of what you have done for Thud, we will keep out of the Great Valley, for now." _Red Claw then shot a look at Littlefoot, who was still shaking in horror. _"I advise you to make sure he and his friends never trespass in my territory. You are free to do what you wish, and should you venture in my area I will not attack, but I will never befriend leaf eaters." _Red Claw turned back to Screech. _"Take that egg eater and head back. We are finished here." _Screech nodded and clamped her jaws on the tail of the dead egg eater and dragged it away, eventually disappearing from sight. Thud and Strut approached Littlefoot and Chomper, and Littlefoot looked at the two of them not with fear but confusion.

"Chomper, what's going on?" He asked in bewilderment. "Why were Red Claw and the fast biters here?"

"Well, Strut came to rescue me and he ran into Thud," Chomper explained. Thud agreed to help him, and Red Claw and Screech kind of just showed up." Littlefoot glanced over at Strut.

"Is that true? You really went to save him?"

"Yes," Strut nodded. "I saw my brother give him to fast biters and followed them. Unfortunately, he took the threehorn elsewhere, and I have no idea how we would be able to find them."

"Maybe I can sniff him out," Chomper suggested. "I may still have his scent. It can't be that hard can it?"

_"You'll never find him on your own," _Thud interjected. _"Your tracking skills have not fully developed yet. I however can pick him up using his brother's scent."_

_ "Wait, are you coming with us?" _Chomper asked.

_"You're going to be running into lots of egg eaters, and you'll need my help to get through them."_

_ "But you've already saved me," _Chomper pointed out. _"You don't owe me anything anymore."_

_ "Perhaps," _Thud commented, _"but maybe I still do." _Chomper couldn't explain it, but something about Thud seemed different. This wasn't the same fast biter that had chased him and his friends for so long. Chomper wasn't sure how to feel, but he nodded and smiled a little.

_"Thud, thank you."_ Chomper turned to Littlefoot and Strut, both of which had remained silent during their conversation, apart from not being able to understand them. "Thud is going to help us save Cera."

"You can't be serious," Littlefoot replied. "Why would he help us?"

"I don't know," Chomper answered, "but he seems like he really wants to help."

"How do we know that he won't try and eat us?" Strut questioned.

_"Maybe I'll only eat you if you continue to annoy me," _Thud muttered.

"He won't," Chomper assured them, ignoring Thud's remark. "I can't explain it, but I trust him. Call it a sharptooth thing I guess."

"I don't know," Littlefoot uneasily said.

"Look, he's a better sniffer than I am," Chomper admitted, "so he's our best chance of finding Ozzie and Cera. Besides, he can protect us." As much as Littlefoot didn't want to admit it, he knew Chomper was right. If they were going to find Cera, they would need all the help they could get.

"Okay," he conceded. "I trust you're judgment." Littlefoot then turned in the other direction. "Ducky! Petrie! Spike! It's okay to come out now!" The three of them poked their heads out from behind their hiding spot.

"What you mean it safe?" Petrie asked. "Mean fast biter still here!"

"He's going to help us find Cera," Littlefoot responded, "but you three are going back.

"No!" Ducky pleaded. "We're coming with you! We are we are!" Spike nodded his head in agreement, but Littlefoot shook his.

"Not this time. I don't want any more of you getting involved with this."

"But Cera our friend too!" Petrie argued

"I know," Littlefoot sighed, "but this is between me and Ozzie. I don't want you guys getting hurt."

"We'll be fine," Chomper added. "Thud and Strut are going to protect us."

"Why you even go?" Petrie asked. "Why not grown ups go?"

"You should have talked with your grandparents before leaving like this," Ducky agreed. "They will be very worried about you. They will they will."

"I can't wait any longer," Littlefoot replied. "We need to save Cera now."

"If we don't go now, Ozzie may do something terrible to her," Strut joined in. "I won't allow that to happen."

"Littlefoot, please let us come with you!" Ducky begged again. "We want to help! We do we do!" Before she could say anything else, Littlefoot lowered his head, lightly latched on to her back with his jaw and placed her on Spike's back.

"I'm sorry," he answered. "Spike, take them back to the grown ups." Defeated, Spike hesitantly nodded and turned. Ducky looked one last time at Littlefoot and yelled out to him.

"Please be careful!" Littlefoot nodded as Spike started running back to the Great Valley with Petrie following close by.

"I'll be back," Littlefoot whispered, "and I'll bring Cera back with me. I promise."

**Well, writer's block sucks big time. I've been away from this for a long time now, but I've finally gotten the inspiration to finish this trilogy once and for all. I apologize to those who have been waiting patiently for this and thank those who may have stuck around for it. I will continue to work on the story every chance I get so I can bring the trilogy to a proper conclusion. Just so we're clear, this chapter is not the actual end of the story. Hope you guys like it and let me know what you think!**


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